Weeks Of Bliss
by mel-chan1003
Summary: They're finally dating. Finally! Who'd have guessed? Certainly not them. Okay, so, how is this going to work out, now? - This is set after "Love, Dreams, Impending End of the World,..." A mostly plotless pile of fluff and smut, to give the boys a chance to figure things out between them and work on their new relationship with each other. M/M/M/M. Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1: The Perfect Cuddles

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes!

And here it comes: The first chapter of WoB :D

I intend to update weekly, most likely every Sunday, so stay tuned :3

Hope you enjoy~  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 01: The Perfect Cuddles**

One week.

They were dating for _one week_ already.

Nico trailed his fingers through Will's hair, who hummed softly in his sleep, a content smile on his face.

The sound made Jason and Percy stir slightly, and Percy hummed back as if in reply, while Jason moved and wrapped his arm around Will from behind, making Will huff.

But Nico wasn't fooled.

He knew Will loved it, especially because he immediately snuggled back into Jason's hold, tugging Nico right along with him as if he was his pillow.

So adorable.

Nico smiled to himself, tempted to lean down and kiss his _boyfriend_.

He could.

That was the beautiful thing about it all.

He _could_.

But he decided against it, unwilling to wake him up.

His nightmares had been horrible the past days, and his resting apparently didn't work too well when he was 'overly excited' (his own words, because he still seemed the same as always to Nico), so it was good if he managed some more sleep.

Nico sighed, gazing back up at the ceiling.

Usually, he was the _last_ person to wake up.

Sure, it was a nice change not to wake up to everybody already busy talking and making plans for the day that complied with their Camp schedules, but…

What was he supposed to do until anybody woke up?

What did the others do when they woke up alone?

Nico sighed, pulling his other arm up to put it over his face.

Then he smiled again.

The past week had been…quite interesting.

After the first night they had spent as 'boyfriends', rather than 'best friends', Nico had had the hardest time believing all that had actually happened.

He was quite happy he had been the last to wake up then, because if he had been the first like now, and would have had to _wait_ , he'd have probably combusted with anticipation and dread.

But it had been real.

He had woken up to find Will kissing down the side of his neck affectionately, looking absolutely content, while Jason had gazed at him with the gentlest expression he had ever seen, wishing him a good morning and leaning down to kiss his forehead.

They kissed a lot.

 _A lot_.

On the first day, they had kissed before they had left the cabin, finally getting up the courage to go to the dining pavilion together since Will's ex-boyfriend had suddenly shown up at Camp.

(That was something that still bothered Nico, but he definitely didn't want to dwell on that right now.)

They had kissed _in_ the dining pavilion, albeit it had been an 'accident'.

(What with Percy and Will bickering about their sitting arrangement until Will had suddenly grabbed Percy's front and pulled him into such an intense kiss, there was no chance for anybody _not_ to notice that.)

They had kissed the entire rest of the day.

(They had also not done anything else that day, even though Nico had been supposed to get the guys back into Camp activities and all.)

They had also kissed most of the next day.

In fact, they had kissed _every_ day.

As much as they could.

Nico had a hunch the guys were partly doing it for him, so he could get used to the change – after all, he knew they must have noticed him glancing at Percy almost each and every time to check whether it really _was_ okay.

(Force of habit.)

But he also knew they _did_ like the kissing just as much as he did.

Oh, Nico loved it, alright?

He almost didn't want to get used to it, because that meant it might become something obvious, something they took for granted, something that wasn't as special anymore as it truly was.

It _was_ special.

Then again, he was pretty sure it would always be special to him, too, no matter how many times they kissed.

Still…a week…

They were dating for a week already.

Nico moved his arm, his face heating as _different_ thoughts started swirling through his head.

They were dating for one week already, and they still hadn't gone _past_ kissing.

It probably shouldn't bother Nico – if anything, he should be happy they were all taking their time, just as Percy and Nico had done back in the beginning of their relationship.

He certainly didn't want to rush anything.

(Especially because he still had no idea how it would _really_ work out.)

(He had dreamed about 'that' countless times, of course, but…that was different…)

The only problem was…

Nico sighed deeply.

They had been dating for a week, kissing all the time, and their nights still spent so close together.

Nico was used to taking showers with Percy in the mornings, where they'd usually…take care of each other, in a way.

But because they were all dating each other now, and it would have been weird if Nico just disappeared into the bathroom with Percy alone just because it was what he was used to, they had sort of…well, in a way, they hadn't even decided on anything, they had simply started taking showers by themselves.

Nico wasn't sure whether he was glad for it or not.

He was still a teensy bit shy about the thought of being naked with either Will or Jason (or, even more so, with _both_ of them), so he was glad nobody had brought up anything like 'Let's switch through and everybody gets to shower with each other at some point'.

But at the same time, showering alone meant to Nico that he had to hurry because he didn't want to make anybody wait, not to mention…

Was it okay if he masturbated?

They hadn't talked about that.

He sure as hell wasn't going to mention it.

No, Nico had decided on the very day they had gotten together that _he_ was _not_ going to be the one turning things sexual.

He was just going to wait and see.

At least that had been his plan up until now.

Now…he wasn't so sure.

It wasn't as if he was _desperate_ (well, maybe a tiny little bit), but…

Come on, it had been a _week_ , and he hadn't gotten off in so, so _long_!

…That was a lie.

Nico felt his face burning as he remembered the day before they had gotten together, which was the day he had woken up to find Jason and Will making out in bed next to him.

Granted, he hadn't seen anything, and surely hadn't participated, but he _had_ listened, and it _had_ affected him, and he _had_ ended up coming in his boxer shorts.

But that had been _very_ embarassing, _very_ uncomfortable, _very_ unnerving, and _not very_ pleasurable as a whole.

So he was going to discard that memory _right away_.

(As if that was actually possible…)

…But it was true.

Other than that, the last time Nico had been able to really get off was the day _Kyle_ had suddenly appeared at Camp, and that had just been a very rushed handjob with Percy, since they had figured they could do more 'later'.

That had been, like, two weeks ago.

Gods, how had Nico ever managed to hold out for so long _before_?

Percy really _had_ spoiled him.

Nico groaned when he realized he was seriously lying in bed thinking about sex while his boyfriends were sleeping and probably dreaming of perfectly innocent things like training lessons or dates or kisses or whatever.

"Mmh…waffles…" Percy mumbled in his sleep and smacked his lips for a moment, before he began to drool into the pillow again.

…Or food, apparently.

Nico sighed, and he felt Will shifting, his hand moving from Nico's chest downwards to his abs.

At least Nico thought that was where the hand was heading, but it didn't stop, instead moving _lower_.

 _Uh-oh._

Nico shifted, and Will's hand stopped at his waistband, his thumb stroking over Nico's skin along the fabric.

It was nothing, an innocent touch, in a way, but to Nico, in that moment, it was enough to make him shiver, feeling hot and cold with anticipation and discomfort.

 _He should move that hand._

What would Will think of him if he woke up and found Nico hot and bothered just because he had his hand on his lower stomach?

Nico swallowed hard and reached out to gently nudge the hand away, but the moment he moved, Will let his hand move downwards, stroking over Nico's crotch.

Nico shivered, his eyes falling shut automatically as he let out a soft breath.

"Somebody seems horny." Will remarked quietly, his voice still laced with sleep – and Nico nearly jumped out of his skin.

In fact, he _did_ jump away from Will, making him collide harshly with Percy behind him, who gasped and woke up with a start.

"W-What? I didn't eat them! It was Jason!" Percy insisted confused, but Nico was too busy trying to climb over him and out of bed.

"Nico?" Will asked, sounding mildly bewildered as he sat up in bed, still seeming adorably disheveled and groggy.

"N-Nothing! Sorry! Bathroom. Yes." Nico stammered, his face _burning_ as he rushed towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him to fall against it.

 _Oh gods_.

Will had noticed.

Of course he had just _had_ to wake up right then and there, huh?

Cruel, _cruel_ world.

Nico smoothed his palm over the front of his boxer shorts, cursing himself and his libido.

The guys seemed absolutely fine.

They kissed a lot more than Nico did, yet they seemed perfectly okay.

Why was life so unfair?

What if Will thought he…he…

Nico shook his head stubbornly and moved to take a quick, _cold_ shower.

Will might have noticed him being 'horny', but he wasn't going to let the guys believe he was doing things in the bathroom, not when he still wasn't sure whether that would even be okay or not.

It was weird, how he had never had to even ponder that with Percy, given that Percy had been only all too willing to 'take care of him' in that regard.

One would assume that dating _three_ guys at the same time would make such a problem absolutely non-existent.

Nico grumbled to himself.

It didn't matter.

The guys would surely get sexual at _some_ point, he simply had to wait for it.

He just hoped it would be sometime soon, or he'd go crazy.

...

"So, what, you think he's scared then?" Jason asked quietly as he and Will stood together at the side with their packed sandwiches, watching Percy and Nico training the kids how to wield their swords right.

Jason noticed how much better the kids had gotten since December, it was quite impressive.

Will sighed next to him.

"I'm not sure. It wasn't really _fear_ I felt. It was more…uncertainty? Discomfort? I don't know, maybe he was simply flustered. But he should know it's okay, right?" Will asked, and Jason watched Nico showing in slower motion how he moved when striking an opponent behind him.

They were talking about Nico, of course.

They had been dating for one week already, and the guys had mutually (and mutely) decided to be patient, to take things slow, to let things come slowly.

Especially because Nico had seemed so nervous in the beginning.

It had improved greatly, of course, but Jason couldn't help but notice that Nico still rarely was the one to initiate anything.

Though it seemed more because of uncertainty, not lack of want, since he always reciprocated, always melted against them, and always seemed to thoroughly enjoy their signs of affections, no matter whether it was sappy lines, timid touches or heated kisses.

"Maybe he just needs a little more time. It _is_ quite the change, after all. Not even you can deny that, Freckles." He replied at long last, watching Percy and Nico demonstrating a swordfight in their usual, crazy speed that made his skin crawl.

Not that he worried about them getting hurt.

They knew what they were doing.

But the sight was still slightly unnerving, anyways.

"A little more time? Do you know how long he's put out? You can practically feel the ' _Take me!_ ' radiating off him, Jason. At least I can. Remember when he seemed to radiate darkness? Now, it's pheromones. He _wants_ to get touched. I'm just starting to think he doesn't want _us_ to do the touching." Will remarked, sounding the tiniest bit hurt, though Jason knew he was trying not to let it show.

Jason sighed, pondering that possibility for maybe one second before discarding it.

"I don't think that's it. Maybe it's just because he's used to Percy, Will. If you and I had been dating for a while, and you'd only ever have _me_ touch you, would you have been entirely comfortable with the thought of Percy and/or Nico doing that all of a sudden?" He reasoned, and Will puffed out his cheeks.

Then he let out a deep sigh.

"I suppose you're right. So, how long do you think it's going to take until he's comfortable enough? Before he combusts or after?"

Jason gave him a pointed look, but Will acted innocent.

"Maybe we should just talk to him about it. I mean, think about it, we all sort of decided to wait until he's ready, but have you considered the possibility he's waiting for us to be ready?" He then tried, and Will snorted.

"Jason, I was _born_ ready to ravish him. Have you seen the look on his face after-…" Will started, but Jason cleared his throat pointedly, watching Percy and Nico moving over to them, the training over for now.

"Hey there. Long time no see. What did you think of-…is that lunch? Food!" Percy visibly brightened at the sight of the sandwiches, already making grabby hands for them.

What a dork.

Jason passed him his sandwiches and smiled.

Out of the four of them, Percy was the most vibrant and expressive with his feelings, it certainly made for a nice change not having to deduce anything from his actions alone.

"I swear, you could _always_ eat, Perce." Will commented wryly, though he seemed more amused than anything else.

"Yeah, probably. But oh well. I'm a big guy, I need lots of food." Percy shrugged, then went to devour his lunch.

"A big guy, huh?" Will muttered under his breath, and Jason shot him a knowing look.

Will could talk about Nico 'putting out' all he wanted, Jason was pretty sure Will was in the same boat right about now.

Maybe they should really have another talk, all four of them.

Jason still remembered Nico's 'I don't know what I'm allowed to do' all too vividly, after all, and, while they had all rushed to reassure Nico he could do anything and everything he wished to do, Jason was well aware that they _all_ were wondering that every now and then.

What was okay?

What was too much?

They should have talked about _boundaries_.

With Will, that conversation was a bit tricky, but it might prevent the one or other issue or misunderstanding in the long run.

Instead of saying 'You can do anything, just do it', maybe they should have started talking about things they weren't into.

'I don't like this or that.'  
'This makes me cringe.'  
'I'd like it if we could wait with this and this.'

Might have been smarter, yeah.

Why exactly hadn't they done this?

Jason blamed it on his dazed mind at the time.

Seriously though, they were _dating_.

Even Percy and he were dating.

Yeah…okay, that was still a bit…weird.

Jason had of course always included Percy when entertaining the idea of a poly relationship with Nico and Will, but he couldn't remember ever really thinking of Percy and himself as…a couple?

Alright, he might have pictured them kissing every here and there, especially after Percy had shown up in his cabin several nights in a row back after the war against Gaea, and they had started truly bonding.

But that had been more a sort of curiosity-thing, given that Jason had realized more and more that he was falling in love with Nico.

(At least that's what he had kept telling himself all this time…?)

Then there was the whole bromance-thing which had already nudged Percy and Jason closer together than 'normal' friends would/should have been, and they had been…comfortable with that.

Right?

Jason wasn't sure anymore.

He only knew that he had felt so utterly _elated_ when Percy had looked at him so offended, when he had snapped at him that _of course_ Jason would be included, and what an idiot he was, and etc.

He had been so _happy_ about that, not just because it meant he wouldn't end up losing Will _and_ Nico to Percy, but also because Percy had made it sound as if he genuinely _wanted_ Jason.

In the same way.

So, needless to say, when they had all had their 'talk' to sort things out and settle on whether to date now or what (though, in Jason's opinion, the outcome had been obvious), he had leaned over and kissed Percy Jackson.

It had been to see whether or not Percy was okay with it, to see whether or not there could be _something_ between them they might not have noticed before, to see whether _he_ was okay with it.

Gods, had he been okay with it.

First, they had treated each other as if they were made of glass, their lips and tongues super gentle and probing, scared of crossing the line, just trying to get a taste without doing any damage to their friendship.

Jason had known the moment Percy's tongue had met his that it was a definite 'Yes'.

Though it had become even more obvious when he had pulled away to find Percy's sea-green eyes gazing up at him dazedly.

Yes, that had been a _definite_ yes.

For Percy, too.

It was still strange, of course, especially because they were still pretty much acting as usual towards each other, not exactly as affectionate as maybe Will and Percy (though, if you called them 'affectionate' to their faces, they _both_ started arguing that, so…), but at the same time, Jason hadn't regretted his decision one bit.

Their kisses since then were a lot less gentle, and usually more about a competitive 'Who is going to dominate this kiss', but Jason would lie if he said he didn't love it to bits, even though they kissed the least, out of all of them.

It was weird, though.

He didn't feel this way when he kissed Nico and Will.

He didn't want to 'dominate' them or show them he was better, bigger, stronger, whatever.

With them, he wanted to be gentle, wanted to enjoy, to relish, to cherish.

With Percy, things were always hungry, always demanding, and everything inside him _always_ screamed for more, to go harder, to go further, to mark Percy as _his_ and to make Percy _know_ it.

Maybe it was good they didn't kiss all that much, after all (mostly because Percy didn't seem interested in kissing him very often, much less go any further than that, but Jason wasn't going to complain).

If he was honest with himself, his own behavior with Percy scared him a bit.

Mostly because he didn't understand how he could suddenly feel like that, so unlike himself.

"When's your shift today, Will?" Percy asked, even though Will had told them last night already that he'd have to be in the infirmary from afternoon till night.

There wasn't _a lot_ for him to do, but enough to keep him busy.

Mostly, it was just the normal training injuries.

Jason hoped it would stay this way.

Since the two scouting groups had been found dead, there had been no more casualties as far as they knew of, but therefore they had only heard back from the scouting groups in the area, not the various demigods and satyrs that were looking for new kids or visited family.

Of course, they had already done their best to send out scouts to warn them and get them back to Camp safely, and even Camp Jupiter (or Reyna, specifically) had offered their help and added their own people.

Jason hoped that was enough, and that everybody would return safely.

It might be wishful thinking and naïve, but he found he didn't even _want_ to imagine any other scenario.

Will and Percy started bickering, but there was no heat in their words.

They were just having fun.

Jason glanced sideways at Nico, and found him eating his sandwich in silence, smirking to himself as he watched Percy and Will.

He did look a lot more at ease than before.

Back when he had been with Percy, it had always seemed as if he had been scared to look at Will and/or Jason for too long.

Now, he didn't hide the adoration in his gaze quite that much anymore.

He still looked away if he knew they noticed, and he _did_ try to put on his great mask of indifference (which generally made him look nothing but adorable, anyways), but he did seem to be at least a bit more comfortable.

Nico caught his gaze and blushed slightly, so Jason shot him a warm smile.

In a way, he really couldn't blame Nico.

This really _was_ all very new.

Plus, Nico had sort of denied himself all of this for so very long, of course he'd have trouble getting used to it right away.

He was a bit like Will in that regard, _wanting_ , but either denying it or arguing with himself that he couldn't have it – which was the same thing in Jason's head, but Will had discussed this very matter with him two days ago, and Jason certainly didn't fancy another argument, so there was that.

"You want to go back to the cabin for now?" He asked instead, and Percy and Will instantly dropped their bickering about the flavor of blue food-coloring (since everything blue apparently tasted better, according to Percy) to nod and look around at Nico, both of them reaching out their hands for him to take.

Oh dear.

Needless to say, they instantly started bickering again, while Jason sighed and moved past them, clasping Nico's hand to place a kiss to it.

"Let's go leave that old married couple alone, shall we?" He asked, and promptly heard two affronted huffs behind him.

"You're just trying to lure him away so you can seduce him!" Percy complained, and Jason rolled his eyes – though he did notice Nico stiffening up the tiniest bit, even if he didn't pull his hand out of Jason's.

"Hey, _I_ wanted to be his first orgasm!" Will exclaimed, and Nico flinched, making Jason study him instantly.

But Nico didn't look upset.

He looked _flustered_.

"I… _what_?"

"What? Who said you're getting first dibs on him?" Percy huffed, and he and Will rounded each other up again, bumping their chests before Percy suddenly broke out laughing and tugged Will closer, pressing his lips to the side of Will's face, just to laugh against his skin a moment later again.

Guys…

"Nobody is getting first dibs on anybody, guys." He stated quietly, though they all knew that already – well, all but Nico, apparently, because he now _did_ look slightly unnerved.

"Duh. As if that worked, anyways. I thought we decided we'd first…you know…fool around a bit, try out different stuff? I imagine it to be pretty difficult to pinpoint exactly who is whose orgasm in such-…"

"Percy, we're in the middle of the Camp!" Nico interrupted him with a beet-red face, and Jason sighed deeply as he allowed the Italian to pull him away towards Nico's cabin.

Why were they even still referring to that cabin as Nico's cabin?

It was basically _their_ cabin by now.

Poor Hades.

Jason hoped dearly that the god never checked on his cabin, because…yeah.

"Oops. Well, but you know what I mean, right?" Percy, of course, didn't seem embarrassed whatsoever.

Jason knew Percy was still absolutely ecstatic about finally having them, about finally having his wish granted, so he couldn't blame him for wanting to shout it to the world.

However, in this particular case, Jason decided they really _should_ get back to their cabin first, before discussing such matters.

At least until all four of them were entirely comfortable with the prospect of having sex.

That was going to be interesting, anyways.

Who would do what?

How would they know?

Jason had a hunch they should really talk about this before they started any 'fooling around', as Percy had just called it.

"Hmm, well, I suppose we could try petting or the like. Something slow, not necessarily sexual, to get us more comfortable with each other?" Will mused, and Jason didn't have to look around to know he was looking at Nico as he spoke.

"Like getting naked?" Percy asked, and Jason promptly felt Nico stumble.

Was Nico _shy_?

He seemed fairly sure of himself when he was training, and while he was quiet and more reserved, not to mention easily flustered, he hadn't exactly given Jason the impression he was shy _with his body_.

They were always sleeping in just their boxer shorts, after all, so it wasn't as if they didn't already know how they looked.

Maybe he should ask Percy about that, check how comfortable Nico had been when he had first started getting sexual with him.

"Yes. We should all get naked." Will stated seriously, and Jason frowned at him over his shoulder, trying to see whether he was joking or not.

"You do know Percy _will_ do that, right?" He pointed out, and Will's lips twitched into a wolfish grin.

"Yeah? Maybe I'm hoping for that?"

"Gee, sun-bug, I'd have never thought." Percy tried to tease, wiggling his eyebrows at Will and all, but the fact his ears turned scarlet sort of gave him away, anyways.

Will shoved him away ever so gently, and Jason's lips twitched when he saw Percy actually humoring him and acting as if he had been _brutally shoved away_.

Dorks.

"Oh shush, you dork. Though, thinking about it, it really doesn't seem like such a bad idea. We could go to bed naked. There's a blanket to hide under, we don't have to touch or turn things sexual or anything, just…"

"You want to cuddle naked? With three guys? And expect things to _not_ get sexual?" Percy interrupted, sounding doubtful, and Jason saw his eyes hushing down Will's body for a moment, showing _he_ certainly wanted things to turn sexual.

Apparently, even Percy was reaching his limit.

Interesting.

"Well, I'm not _expecting_ anything. I'm just saying that it doesn't _have_ to turn sexual. If we end up agreeing that things _can_ turn sexual, I'm all for it, of course." Will corrected, and Jason glanced sideways at Nico, then back straight ahead as they neared their cabin.

Nico had his poker-face on, but seemed to listen intently.

"Alright, I'm all for it, then." Percy announced behind them and Jason smiled to himself.

Of course.

Nico unlocked the door quietly, looking at anything but them.

Jason studied him from the side a moment longer, weighing his options.

"What do you think, Nico?" He asked at long last.

If he agreed to it because he thought Nico was just flustered, and Nico turned out to be uncomfortable, chances were he'd still just go along with it, anyways.

If he didn't agree to it because he thought Nico was uncomfortable, while Nico was actually just flustered, it might make Nico disagree to support Jason, or make him uncertain in general.

"If…if you all think it's a good idea…" Nico replied, still not meeting their gazes, and his voice was a tad higher than usual.

Flustered?

Jason glanced around at Will as they filed into the cabin, and Will gave him a small nod, before moving to wrap his arms around Nico from behind.

"Awesome! Great, now I'll think of nothing but _that_ for the rest of the day. Thanks so much, guys. And there I thought you love me." Will complained, before acting as if he was about to weep – just to blow a raspberry on Nico's neck.

Jason knew the temptation only all too well.

Especially because…

Nico squeaked, nearly jumping out of his skin before he tried to wriggle out of Will's hold, bright pink in the face.

Yeah, that was exactly why.

"Would you stop that? Seriously, why are you always targeting _me_? It's not _fair_!" Nico wailed, trying to escape, but Will was already rushing after him with a dangerous grin.

Okay.

That meant just flustered.

Everything was good then.

"Because we loooove you." Will exclaimed, drawing out the 'love' as he grabbed hold of Nico's hips and made them both topple sideways into Nico's – well, _their_ – bed.

Dork.

Jason and Percy shot each other telling looks, then they grinned and moved over to the bed, too, while Nico was still trying to escape without trying to 'escape'.

Which basically meant he was flailing his arms and whining, but not actually moving away whatsoever, not even when Will momentarily let go of him completely.

Yeah, they were good.

"Got some space for two more in there?" Percy asked with a crooked grin, and Will wiggled his eyebrows at him – before snatching Nico and rolling them both over, which put Nico against the wall, and Will right behind.

That guy.

Percy and Jason exchanged pointed looks, then laughed and joined their boyfriends.

Apparently, they were going to cuddle until Will would have to leave in an hour.

Perfect.

...

"Mmh, Nico, you feel so nice." Will purred, rubbing against Nico's back slowly, his arms still around him and stroking over his stomach.

Gods, he felt so _good_.

Will shouldn't have persuaded him to take off his shirt and pants.

Sure, he was still wearing his boxer shorts (sadly), but _still_.

Will had to leave in half an hour, what was he even doing, getting hot and bothered _now_.

Then again, he was mostly getting hot and bothered because _Nico_ was.

Gods.

What was this guy doing to him?

How did Nico even get turned on, Will wasn't even doing anything!

…Yeah, okay, he was doing _something_ , and he knew Nico liked being touched like this, but…still…

Will made a face to himself, then leaned down to nibble on Nico's neck again, tugging on the sensitive skin.

He wanted to leave a mark so, _so_ badly.

Nico would let him, too.

Nico would let him do close to anything, especially right now.

Will's hands moved lower, stroking over his lower stomach and to his sides, then to his hip bones, then along the waistline of his boxer shorts, wanting, wanting, _wanting_.

And Nico wanted so badly, too!

Nico shifted, and Will forced himself to pull back.

 _Why_?

Why was Nico so uncertain?

Will didn't understand.

He _wanted_ it, _needed_ it, Will could _feel_ it.

Was Jason right?

Was it because Nico wasn't comfortable enough with them yet?

"You like this?" He asked as he started kissing Nico's neck to shoulders again.

He liked doing that.

He also knew Nico liked it.

"Yes." Nico replied, his voice slightly breathless.

He was so turned on.

Will wished he could move Nico to lay down on his front, so he could tease the back of his neck, as well as grind against that delicious butt that was a freaking _tease_.

Why did it have to feel so nice against Will's groin, huh?

Totally unfair.

"Want me to continue?" He asked cheekily, though he was serious.

Then he gently bit Nico's skin, making him huff so wonderfully.

"Y-Yes…?"

Why did that sound more like a question?

"What would you like me to do?" Will asked, noticing his voice was a tad husky.

It wasn't his fault.

Nico shifted, and Will automatically grabbed hold of his hips for a moment, tugging him against him, though he made sure not to make contact with his dick, unwilling to scare Nico off.

Oh, the temptation, though.

Nico let out a small gasp.

"Anything you want."

Damn.

Will wanted _a lot_.

Sadly, this was not the answer he wanted to hear.

He needed Nico to tell him.

Will wouldn't let himself go further unless Nico really freaking _said it_.

Instead of asking for him to clarify, Will leaned over Nico, turned his head towards him, and kissed him.

Gods, he tasted so _good_!

Fuck, Will wanted him so bad.

They were only dating for a week, but Will had loved this guy for so very long already, had craved for him, had _wanted_ so, so much.

And Nico wanted him back.

He could _feel_ it, damn it!

Could feel Nico's skin heating under his, could feel the way his breath hitched as Will's tongue played with his, could feel the way Nico shifted wantonly beneath him as Will started pinning him to the bed.

Could feel his values all over the place, could feel his emotions, his love, the lust, the want, the _need_ inside him.

Why didn't he let Will touch him, then?

Will tried again, moving his hands downwards and towards Nico's boxer shorts.

This time, he stroked over the front, not surprised in the slightest when something hot and hard was pressing into his palm.

Nico bucked his hips with a wild gasp, then suddenly flinched and recoiled, and Will was forced to pull back from both his lips as well as his body.

"Nico, what-…"

" _I'm sorry!_ " Nico exclaimed, then suddenly rolled to the side, looking _devastated_ as he grabbed the blanket and…threw it over himself…?

Will stared, confused, bewildered, slightly hurt.

Percy and Jason stopped their discussion about their photo albums over in the corner, looking over.

"What happened?" Jason asked, eyes instantly full of concern, but Will could only shrug, absolutely lost.

"Nico?" Percy asked, sounding as confused as Will felt.

 _What did he do?_

Had he touched him wrong?

He hadn't felt any pain…?

To his utmost horror, he heard Nico sniffle.

Will froze, exchanging a look with the guys.

Shit, had he _hurt_ Nico?

He hadn't even done anything!

He had just…just…

What…

Wait…

Jason made to get up, but Will held up his hand, then looked back at the bundle next to him.

"Nico…" He whispered quietly, making a shooing motion towards the guys to let them know not to eavesdrop too obviously.

Then, he moved to lay down behind Nico, slowly moving his hands under the blanket, to give Nico a chance to stop him should he wish to.

Nico didn't.

Will slowly moved under the blanket, wrapping his arms around Nico, even though it instantly felt way too hot.

If Nico endured it, so could Will.

"I'm sorry…" Nico whispered, sounding mortified.

"What for, love? I won't do anything if you don't want me to. I just thought…" Will trailed off, wondering whether it really was a good idea to tell Nico he could feel how much he needed release.

"Do you want me to get Percy?" He asked quietly, instead.

Maybe they really did need more time.

Nico stiffened to a board.

Then he suddenly pushed away from Will, up into a sitting position.

" _No_! Will, what the _fuck_?!"

Will sat up too, feeling his face heating as Percy and Jason looked over again, their expressions between surprise and concern.

Since when was Nico even using the _f-word_?!

And what had he said to warrant _that_ reaction, anyways?!

"Well, then what is it? If it's not the fact I'm not Percy, then why-…" He started, cringing at how demanding and entitled he sounded.

"What about me?" Percy asked bewildered.

"I just…I don't… _I'm_ _fine_ , Will. I don't need…" Nico insisted, gesturing wildly and turning a dark shade of red.

"Nico, you're two strokes away from coming, you-…" Will deadpanned, but was interrupted by Nico letting out a high-pitched, almost angry _squeal_ , before he suddenly turned away from him and dropped back into bed, pulling the blanket over his head again.

Will blinked, glancing towards the guys again for a moment, before he dropped back into the bed, his arms pushing under the blanket again to gently move up and down Nico's back.

To soothe, not to confront.

"You know it's okay, right?" He asked softly, but Nico remained silent, his body trembling.

Will could feel the lingering heat and want inside him, could feel the uncertainty and doubt – and he could feel what felt a bit like shame.

 _Why_?

Will moved his head under the blanket, making out the mid of Nico's back and trailing kisses over it.

"Nico, you know I love you, right?" He asked, and Nico nodded after a moment's hesitation, even though there was no way he could expect Will to see that.

"And you know we're boyfriends?" Will asked, and Nico flinched.

"I know that!" He snapped, but then slumped again, the momentary anger at Will for even _thinking_ that dissipating again, though the frustration remained.

Will kissed up his back slowly, sucking ever so gently on his skin, and Nico shivered slightly.

"I _know_ that…it's just…" Nico repeated, this time quieter, softer, calmer.

Will continued, gently teasing the back of his neck, while his hands stroked Nico's hair out of the way.

"Too new?" He guessed, but Nico shook his head.

"I…you guys…you're all okay and I'm just…it's just so _pathetic_ …" Nico admitted meekly, curling into himself slightly, and Will stopped, blinking in confusion.

What…

 _Oh gods._

Oh gods, Nico was an _idiot_.

"We're 'okay'? Nico, you do know we're just as horny as you are, right?" He asked incredulously, but Nico merely huffed, more than apparently not believing a single word.

Will didn't think.

He moved up, pushing that dumb blanket off them, and rolled over Nico, snatching his hand as he went.

Nico squeaked, then his eyes widened in surprise as Will put his hand over his crotch, letting him feel his half-hard dick.

"Nico, we've all been putting out, and I'm pretty sure only _Jason_ isn't frustrated out of his mind yet, but-…"

"But you aren't at risk of blowing just because of a simple kiss or a touch!" Nico argued, his face utterly pink – though Will noticed he was neither pulling away or sitting up, nor moving his hand away in any way.

In fact, Will could even feel his fingertips twitching the slightest bit, as if…wanting to touch…

"Oh baby, you have no idea." He replied quietly, then he shifted closer and let go of Nico's hand completely.

"Do you want me to show you just how close I am?" Will asked in a low voice, and Nico looked at him with big, brown eyes, his pupils quickly dilating.

Will let out a low rumble, close to a purr.

Then he moved forward and captured his boyfriend's lips in a heated, wanting kiss.

Nico gasped, then returned the kiss, pushing against him ever so slightly, though he didn't seem to know what to do with his hand, since it moved to Will's hip bone.

No, not there.

Will shifted and took Nico's hand again, guiding it right back, and he could hear and feel Nico gasp as his fingers closed around his now _hardening_ dick through his boxer shorts.

Will had to resist the urge to moan.

This wasn't for him; this was for Nico.

…That was a lie.

It was for _both_ of them.

He let go of Nico's hand, and this time it stayed there, timid fingers touching him as if he was going to break.

He wouldn't.

He was going to _combust_.

Will sucked on Nico's bottom lip, then gave him another open-mouthed kiss before moving along his jaw to his neck, coming closer and wrapping his arms around Nico body, squeezing his butt.

Gods, that backside.

Sadly, that would have to wait.

This was going to be so rushed…

Nico made a small sound, then shifted closer by himself, and his hand suddenly moved upwards.

For a moment, Will thought he was going to pull it away.

But then, he tugged on Will's boxer shorts.

Will nodded wildly as he pushed Nico back into the sheets, moving on top of him and letting hands and eyes roam over his body hungrily for a moment, wishing he had more _time_.

Then he felt Nico's hand slipping inside the fabric.

Gods, _yes_.

Will let out a soft moan, his eyes falling shut as he relished in the touch for a moment.

Nico was way too gentle.

Then again, Will had a hunch he'd have blown instantly if Nico's touch had been any different right now.

There was a thought nagging in the back of his mind, but he brushed it off.

He _needed_ this.

Fine, Will was at his limit, too, he admitted to it.

"Let me touch you, Nico." He breathed.

It wasn't exactly a question, but it wasn't an order either.

Maybe it was a request?

Or a plea…

"I-Is that okay…?" Nico stammered, halting in his gentle stroking, and Will urged himself to crack one eye open, glancing towards Percy and Jason.

They both looked surprised at the sudden attention.

"What? Oh, you two do as you please. Hehe, ' _please'_ , you get it?" Percy first replied seriously, then suddenly nudged Jason and wiggled his eyebrows.

Jason did them all a favor and shot him a pointed look.

"Of course it's okay. We can't always all be there, and I'm pretty sure at least one of us won't be in the mood every here and there, so I'd say stuff like this is _perfectly_ okay. Always."

Ugh, too much talking.

Will was already moving his hands towards Nico's boxer shorts the moment Jason had said 'Of course'.

His.

His boyfriend.

His Nico.

His…

"Shit, you're _perfect_."

Percy and Jason snorted, but Will ignored that in favor of watching his Nico blush down to his chest as he allowed Will to pull his underwear down.

 _Shit_.

 _Fuck_.

If he had the time and the stamina to hold out a while longer, he'd have done all in his power to get Nico's permission to blow him.

Gods, he had a _beautiful_ dick.

Will realized he was staring.

He also realized he was probably being creepy.

Nico opened his mouth to undoubtedly tell him to stop (his flustered expression and the stammering tipped him off), but Will interrupted him by wrapping his hand around his shaft.

It worked.

Nico gasped, then groaned, then bucked his hips with a small whine, thrusting his head back into the pillow.

Gods, his expression was beautiful, too.

Will leaned over him, already tugging his chin upwards so they could kiss, and they shared what just had to be the sloppiest kiss ever, but they had good excuses for it:

Nico's hand had remembered how to stroke a dick properly.

 _Will's_ dick.

They kissed, they gasped, and Nico let out something strangled and feeble that was either 'I usually last longer!' or 'Sushi boner!'.

Will assumed it was the first, since the next moment, Nico bucked into his hand again and came.

Which was beautiful to watch, too.

(Not to mention feel.)

Will couldn't decide whether he wanted to watch Nico's face or his dick, but ended up peeking down, anyways, and he wasn't disappointed.

Fuck, he wanted that dick.

He was still looking down when Nico's hand picked up its pace, and the next moment, Will could feel Nico's lips against his _ear_ , nibbling on his earlobe in the gentlest way possible.

" _Please_ tell me you're about to come." Nico breathed against his ear, and it were the _perfect_ words, telling Will it was okay, it was okay, he could…

Nico switched ears, gently tugging on the earlobe, while his hand stroked up and down Will's dick determinedly, his palm moving over his tip once, twice… _oh_!

 _Oh gods_.

Will nodded, whimpered, moaned – and came, biting Nico's neck as his orgasm rolled over him, his cum joining Nico's on his stomach.

Nico stroked him through it, though it took Will a moment to realize the Italian was whimpering softly.

It took him another moment to realize that was because Will still had his hand around Nico's over-sensitive dick.

Oops.

He let go, then moved to give Nico another sloppy, deeply satisfied kiss, both of them shivering slightly as the afterglow started settling in.

 _Oh gods, this was good.  
Nico beneath him like this.  
It was amazing._

He should have done this three days ago.

(Then he might have lasted longer and managed to _enjoy_ it longer, too.)

"I love you, Nico." He murmured, and Nico giggled softly, turning his insides even more to mush than they already were.

"I love you too, Will."

Will hummed, his eyes still closed as he leaned in for another kiss.

If there wasn't a puddle of cum on Nico's stomach, he'd so flop down on top of him right now.

There was noise next to him, but he didn't even bother looking, instead humming some more and nibbling on Nico's bottom lip, making him giggle again.

This felt so nice.

Nico felt so nice.

Will felt nice, too.

Everything felt nice.

Will wanted to go to sleep.

"Freckles, I hate to interrupt you, but…" Jason started next to him, and Will sighed gravely, cracking one eye open.

"I hope you brought tissues." He very lovingly remarked, but Jason wasn't perturbed, sitting down next to them on the bed.

"Nope, I brought something better." Jason replied, then lifted a wet cloth, moving in to do their clean-up for them.

 _Nice_.

Nico started turning a darker pink again, and Will could feel the fluster and the uncertainty rush through him once more.

He returned to tug on his bottom lip, nibbling gently on it to draw Nico's attention back to him, instead.

"You worry too much, Nico-Neek-Neeks." He remarked, and found Nico looking up at him with an almost affronted look that made _Will_ giggle.

"Don't call me that. What is that, even?"

Aww, so adorable.

"Okay, Diet Pepsi. Your wish is my command."

Nico groaned.

Will cackled.

Jason chuckled next to them, looking at both their faces with soft looks.

"Jason, tell him to stop that."

 _Rude_.

"I fear I can't do that, love. But I can guarantee you Will won't be bothering you for a while now." Jason replied quietly, and Will shot him a skeptical look.

Wait, what?

How so?

He was going to do whatever he wanted (aka Nico), and nothing was going to stop him, especially not right now.

Will was enjoying his afterglow here!

If Jason thought he could mess with that, he was very much mistaken!

"Why would I do that?" He asked dubiously, and heard Percy chuckling to himself in the distance, as if he knew full well what Jason was talking about.

Nico looked clueless, though, so at least it didn't seem too obvious.

Jason smiled at him, then leaned forward, moving his lips towards Will's ear.

Was he trying to seduce him or something?

"You have two minutes left to make it for your shift in the infirmary."

Will's heart seemed to stop in his chest.

 _Oh shit_!

Nico started laughing as Will made a despairing sound, and if he hadn't already been busy rushing out of the bed and for his clothes, he'd have bitten him.

 _Hard_.

Well, maybe not too hard.

Didn't want any injuries, after all.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" He yelled through the room as he jumped into his pants (quite literally), and Percy snorted from where he was huddled with Nico's laptop still.

"Dude, we weren't going to interrupt you two and if our lives depended on it. Probably because you'd have _ended_ our lives." He remarked, and, while that was observation was absolutely true, Will still let out a frustrated sound, slipping into his shirt hurriedly and making for the door.

"Will." Jason's voice sounded, and Will forced himself to stop, looking around in question as well as frustration.

"What?"

He wasn't even done asking when Jason's lips were already pressed to his forehead, and a jacket, as well as his medic pouch were pushed into his hands.

"Take care, love."

For a moment, Will just stood there, his mind blank, his heart in his throat, his lips still parted, the left-over calm from his afterglow spreading through him happily.

Then he shook his head, his face heating as he shot Jason a dark look – though he did lean up to give him a gentle peck, before waving towards his other two boyfriends.

"Alright, I'm gone. Love you. Bye." Will quickly called, then turned to go.

He heard them reply, though he couldn't catch what they were saying, instead already out the door and running for the infirmary.

First of all, Kayla was going to kill him.

Second of all, if they ever moved to New Rome and he ended up having a job and whatnot, he wanted them to see him off just like this.

For a moment, his vision came back to the front of his mind, but he forcefully pushed it back down.

Then, he decided that he'd just like the guys to always see him off like this for whatever, as long as it was in this very way.

For the rest of his life.

...

When Will came back, Percy had already picked up some dinner for him so neither he nor they had to leave again.

Will seemed to like that.

Percy watched him eat with a small smile on his face as he leaned over his chair, listening to Will telling them about how some frightened, younger kids had told him about 'the mighty Clarisse'.

He'd wrinkle his nose at that just because of the nature of their relationship, but in this case, Percy decided she truly had done a mighty deed.

Apparently, once she had heard of Kyle assaulting Will in the infirmary, she had taken to…well, to 'picking fights' with people who had started spreading rumors or gossiping too much or downplaying anything – or being horrible human beings, in general.

Which meant that she had generally walked up to anybody she had managed to overhear, just to then yell 'Do you want to pick a fight?!' – and promptly punch them in the face without even giving them a chance to reply.

Yeah, Percy definitely had to thank her at some point when he saw her around next.

Nico shot him a look that said 'Do it'.

 _Ha_.

Percy winked at him and looked back at Will, watching him gesture slightly as he talked.

Not quite as much as Nico sometimes did, but it was still noticeable (and cute).

He also liked the way his freckles stood out so nicely against his skin again.

One day, he'd so count all of those.

And had anybody seen those eyes?

 _Beautiful_.

They gleamed so nicely whenever Will got passionate.

At this point, Percy had to admit he had lost track of the conversation, because Will was speaking in medical terms he didn't understand (though it seemed to have to do with the supplies, not the Campers, anyways), but he still couldn't stop smiling and watching him, anyways.

His boyfriend.

His. Boyfriend.

They were _all_ his boyfriends.

Percy kind of wished he had a smartphone or something, so he could text people and write them about his boyfriends, with a winking smiley behind the word 'boyfriends' each and every time.

Which…was a very random, and kind of weird wish.

Percy loved it.

He loved them.

"Will, don't look, but Percy is making heart eyes at you." Jason sold him out cruelly and Will instantly glanced around at Percy.

Percy wasn't quick enough to hide his expression, though he turned to glower at Jason the next moment, anyways, no matter if his ears were heating or not.

"Did not."

"Did too." Jason retorted, and Percy stuck his tongue out.

"Proof?" He demanded, but to his surprise (and horror), Jason turned to look at Nico, who was grinning and waving with his camera.

 _What_?

"Unfair!" Percy wailed, while Will threw him an unimpressed look.

"Oh, so that's what you were taking a photo of. I was wondering what you were doing." He remarked, and Percy pouted.

"Couldn't you have stopped them?" He asked, but Will merely stretched and got up from where he sat, moving towards Percy slowly as he seemed to ponder that for a moment.

"Nope." He then replied, poking Percy's nose – and Percy was about to pout even more and complain, but then Will already leaned down with a small chuckle and pressed his lips to Percy's cheek.

Needless to say, Percy forgot all about being upset, instead grinning and reaching out to move his arms around Will's midriff, tugging him closer to kiss…his ribcage.

Through his shirt.

Hm, maybe he should have gotten up.

Nah, this was great, too.

Will laughed, stroking through his hair for a moment as Percy looked up at him with a cooked grin.

He liked it when Will laughed.

It sounded so wonderful, he wouldn't want to miss it in his life anymore.

"Aren't you two just adorable and in love?" Jason asked, but it didn't seem teasing.

Percy moved his head to peek past Will's arm towards the blonde, and found him looking at them with a soft, affectionate expression on his face.

He smiled back at him, then burrowed his face in Will's shirt.

"You smell like disinfectant." Percy noted quietly, inhaling Will's scent.

"Wow, what a surprise." Will deadpanned and Percy was tempted to try and bite him.

Instead, he tried blowing a raspberry – which didn't work, but Will still laughed, anyways.

Before cruelly shoving him away.

(With which he meant Will applied the gentlest pressure to Percy's shoulders, and Percy got the hint and let his boyfriend go free.)

"Do you want me to take a shower?" Will asked softly, and Percy frowned for a moment, glancing up at him as Will was tangling his fingers in his hair.

Then he shook his head.

"It's nice. Suits you, Doctor Solace."

Will's cheeks flushed slightly, and Percy watched it happen with the greatest satisfaction.

He really did like being called 'doctor'.

Percy wondered whether Will actually had any fantasies in that regard.

He decided he'd definitely have to ask once they were more comfortable with the whole sex-thing.

Not necessarily because he was into anything of the sort, but because he was a curious little shit.

"Is that so? Know what, I'm still taking a shower. Goodbye." Will suddenly said and tried to pull completely away, but Percy wailed and tugged him tighter again, causing Will to pull him with him, along, chair and all.

"Nooo~, stay!" Percy wailed, and Will looked surprised for a moment, before he snorted out a laugh and flicked his forehead.

"I'm only going to be in the bathroom, you dork."

"Way too far away." Jason remarked from the bed, winking at them, and Percy stuck his tongue out again, though he absolutely agreed.

Nico just watched them with a warm smile.

He had been in a much more relaxed mood ever since his super-rushed handjob with Will.

Now _that_ had surely been something.

Percy had noticed Nico had started behaving a bit oddly, but he had sort of just assumed it to be because everything was still so new and he was getting used to the change.

Kind of sad, considering that Percy had been Nico's only boyfriend before this.

Percy definitely should have known better.

But Nico seemed fine now.

A lot more relaxed, a lot more at ease, and maybe even a tiny little bit more confident.

"Percy, the quicker you let me go, the quicker I can shower, and the quicker we can proceed with the _naked cuddles_." Will put in, and Percy immediately let him go.

 _Naked cuddles._

Yes, he wanted that.

It was going to be awkward as hell.

He could barely wait.

Though he did hope a teensy bit things just _might_ turn sexual.

Not that he was desperate yet, but…he was just so curious!

"Aww okay…" He pouted more for show than anything else, and the guys chuckled, sending him knowing looks, before Will disappeared into the bathroom.

How would things work out?

How would they do _it_?

Would they take things slow-slow, as in, like, handjobs like with Nico, until they got more and more comfortable?

Or would they let things escalate?

Would Nico bottom?

If so, how would they do that?

Percy had already decided he would try and stay out of their first time together a bit, so Will and Jason would get to enjoy themselves thoroughly with Nico, since Percy had kept Nico to himself for so long, after all.

Also, he didn't want to fall back into old patterns.

He already knew Nico's body fairly well, knew what he liked, knew what set him off.

While he knew Will knew the same things, too, Will had still never gotten to actually put his knowledge to use, but Percy surely had, and Nico was used to Percy doing these things.

So he was worried it would end up being just Percy and Nico, while Jason and Will would end up just watching, and he was absolutely certain he didn't want that.

Instead, he hoped to stay out of it a bit, though he hoped they'd let him watch.

He had never been one for watching, always one to take action, but he _had_ also watched that handjob earlier (though he hadn't seen all that much and it had been over pretty quickly), and that hadn't bothered him one bit.

Also, he just…wanted to be there, really.

He knew Jason was right with what he had said earlier, of course.

They wouldn't always manage to all be there, especially not with their different schedules and duties, and even then, one couldn't expect them to all be in the mood at the same time.

Hell, he was pretty sure they definitely wouldn't even have some sort of orgy each time things got sexual, anyways, no matter the circumstances.

That wasn't the point of their relationship, anyways.

But…Percy still hoped they'd at least manage to be together for the first few times, until they got a bit more comfortable and used to it.

"Percy, you're drooling." Jason noted with an amused expression, and Percy instinctively wiped at his mouth, though he knew he _wasn't_ drooling.

Nico bit back a small laugh.

Perc shot them both dark looks.

"Oh shush, Sparky. You're just jealous." He remarked, though he had no idea what Jason could be jealous of.

"Oh really? Of what? Your ability to drool? Nah, you can keep that." Jason retorted, and Percy huffed.

Rude.

"Of my stunningly good looks." He then shot back, posing dramatically on his chair.

Nico nearly choked on his spit as he tried to gasp and laugh at the same time.

Jason merely raised an eyebrow.

Then he sighed dramatically, and Percy's eyes lit up.

"Oh, you're right. Who am I kidding? You're so roguishly good-looking, I just can't compete. Especially since you're wearing those ridiculous – I mean _fabulous_ – 'The little mermaid'-boxer shorts of yours." Jason then lamented loudly, not sounding believable at all, though he did let himself fall backwards into bed with a _devastated_ sigh.

Percy snorted, then glanced down at his boxer shorts.

Oh, true, he had forgotten he was wearing those.

Damn, now he was surprised Will hadn't commented on them.

Then again, he was surprised Will hadn't said anything about finding him in just his shirt and boxer-shorts, with his jeans torn to shreds next to the door.

(Which absolutely hadn't been his fault.)  
(Much.)  
(Stupid lava wall and crazy kids with spears…)

Though, in all fairness, none of them could deny they usually tended to be half-naked around each other much more than completely dressed.

Mostly because there was no reason for so much clothing when one kept staying in bed, even if they weren't sleeping and just lounging on there to chat and waste the day away.

They should get a sofa in here.

Then they could lounge around on that, instead, and watch TV when they weren't doing Camp activities.

They could also watch TV from the bed, he guessed, but he still wanted a sofa, anyways.

Or a pillow corner.

No, wait, no pillow corner, that was only going to be defiled by two certain somebodies.

Then again, so would the sofa…

Wait, but now he'd be able to defile it with them…

Alright, he was in for either!

Percy got up and tugged his shirt off, since they were about to go to bed, anyways, then started moving over to where Jason seemed to be playing dead on the bed.

Or maybe he had fallen asleep.

He leaned forward to peek at his face, and found Jason peeking back at him, just to then dramatically whine and put his arm over his face.

"No, go away, you gorgeous human being in your astonishing attire. Your beauty burns my soul."

Percy cackled.

This guy.

Nico sent them both wary looks, though Percy could see his lips twitching.

"You're both such kids." Nico remarked drily when Percy started straddling Jason's hips, trying to move his arm to make him look at him.

Percy merely cackled louder.

"You can't escape my beauty, Jason. Give in to the call of the siren. Let me pull you under the waters of lust and temptation. _I'll show you the world_." He reasoned with Jason, who was laughing and shaking his head and keeping his arm over his face, that tease, while also mumbling something about Percy quoting the wrong movie.

Percy ignored it.

"Don't sirens lure in their prey with _songs_?" Nico muttered warily, and Jason snorted.

"Don't encourage him, Nico."

"Hey, I can sing! If I want to, that is. Want to hear it?" Percy offered with a wiggle of his eyebrows, though Jason couldn't see.

"Will I die?" Jason asked skeptically, and Percy pinched his stomach.

"Rude!"

Jason flinched and whined, so Percy did it again, then pushed his hands under Jason's shirt to tickle him.

Things with Jason were…weird.

Not bad weird, but…

Well, Percy had to admit he hadn't thought that through completely, back before they had gotten together.

Jason had always sort of been there, and always been part of the whole idea of 'having all four of them happy' (duh).

But it hadn't _really_ occurred to him what the two of them would be to each other until Jason had started going on and on about how much he loved Will and Nico…without ever as much as mentioning Percy.

It had actually hurt, if he was being honest.

Which was weird, because, well, he hadn't exactly been any different towards Jason…right?

But he had told himself he'd be fine with whatever, that it didn't matter, that things would work out one way or another and he'd be happy with anything, as long as the four of them could be happy in the end.

Jason had of course looked right through that, though.

Percy still remembered that kiss all too vividly, the way Jason had just suddenly leaned over, the way his lips had been so timid and overly gentle, as if scared of scaring Percy off.

He hadn't.

Gods, no.

Percy had been surprised, yes.

But he had also felt that odd tingle inside him, and the urge to kiss back.

So he had.

It had been the gentlest, yet also most gratifying kiss he had ever had, in a really weird way.

He had…actually really liked that.

He had also absolutely loved the way Jason had pulled back, looking at him in surprise and oddly out of breath, just to then start babbling about 'Yes, definitely yes' and whatnot (Percy hadn't been listening much).

Percy had definitely liked the way Jason had looked at him.

Especially when he had suddenly looked uncertain, studying his eyes and asking whether it was a 'Yes' for him, too.

Percy hadn't even known what he was talking about.

Instead, he had merely tugged him right back down for a _real_ kiss.

That was back then, though.

Since then, they were sort of as always again.

They kissed every here and there, pretty much whenever their competitive streak got a bit out of hand (always Percy's doing, of course), but Percy had to admit they were a lot less involved than Percy and Nico or Percy and Will were.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He also wasn't sure he wanted to find out, because that meant he'd have to sit down and think about whether or not he wanted to change something about it.

In a way, he'd _like_ to do more with Jason.

But at the same time, he didn't know how to initiate it without pushing to compete or whatever.

Jason didn't really do anything if Percy didn't initiate it.

The blonde laughed beneath him, still trying to get Percy to stop tickling, and Percy cackled triumphantly – until Jason suddenly grabbed hold of Percy's sides and rolled them over, pinning him to the bed, his hands immediately snatched and held up above his head.

Well, _damn_.

 _That_ certainly put a stop to Percy's thoughts.

Jason was on top of him, still panting slightly and with his glasses nearly sliding off, but he still looked triumphant and smug.

"Gotcha." Jason purred.

Yes, yes he did.

Percy tried not to shiver at the sound of his voice, but it was futile.

Same as it was futile not to let his gaze hush down Jason's body ever so quickly.

If Percy was being honest with himself…this was exactly why he wanted to do more stuff with Jason.

He didn't want to admit it to himself just yet, and he sure as hell wasn't going to say anything out loud, but…

He kind of…really liked this.

 _This_.

Jason, on top of him, pushing him down, looking at him with that dangerous gleam in his eyes.

He wondered whether Nico had ever felt that way about Percy pinning him down.

"Lies. I could escape anytime." Percy retorted, trying to sound unfazed, but something in Jason's eyes told him he _knew_.

Jason raised an eyebrow, leaning down further, so Percy could feel his breath on his skin, and Jason's grip on him tightened slightly.

"Oh really?" He purred, and Percy could feel his skin tingling.

Who was he kidding, his entire body tingled.

He was dimly aware of Nico watching them, but he couldn't make himself look around at him to check his expression.

As it was, he couldn't tear his gaze away from Jason at all.

"Yes…" He replied, trying to sound cocky, but his voice was slightly breathless, and the way Jason grinned slowly in reply wasn't making it any better either.

The blonde came even closer, and Percy had to work hard on not letting his breath hitch.

"Escape then. I dare you to." Jason breathed against his lips, his tone way too seductive for his words, and Percy gulped.

For a long moment, there was silence, and Percy couldn't even _think_ about moving, about 'escaping', his eyes glued to Jason's lips, his breathing irregular, his entire body begging for Jason to have mercy on him and just _kiss him_ already.

Then he watched Jason's triumphant grin widening and took injury to his pride.

He was just collecting his thoughts and trying to form something he could snap at Jason to show him his place, but then Jason suddenly dipped his head down and mouthed at Percy's neck – and that cruel ass just managed to make Percy gasp, loud and clearly audible in the other wisely rather quiet cabin.

Just his luck.

Percy was about to complain, but then couldn't, because Jason was sucking on his skin in a rather tantalizing way that only risked him moaning again, and he wasn't going to do that until he was free and had shown Jason he could fight back just fine.

He started struggling against Jason's hold, but Jason didn't let go, instead smirking against his skin and moving to the front of his throat.

Percy managed to tear free, which probably surprised him more than Jason, but then he wasn't thinking much anymore, already grabbing Jason's face and pulling him upwards into a hot, desperate kiss.

 _This was all Jason's fault!_

Percy kept using that excuse as he and Jason started mashing their lips together at a wild, frantic pace.

He also used that excuse when he shifted under Jason and urged him between his legs so he could wrap them around him clumsily, not liking having them stuck under him whatsoever.

It was also that excuse he kept telling himself as his fingers tangled into Jason's hair and brought him down harder, making both of them gasp.

Then Jason's body dropped onto his, and, yes, this was all _definitely_ Jason's fault.

"Damn…" They heard Nico whispering next to them, sounding slightly awed, but Percy couldn't make himself look around, instead letting his head fall back to bare his neck as Jason started kissing down along the side of it again, his movements a lot less controlled than before.

The realization was much more gratifying that it probably should be.

Percy didn't care, instead letting out a low moan.

Jason shivered, his hands first seeming unsure of what to do, but then he moved them to Percy's sides, stroking over them surprisingly gently, given that his lips and tongue were harsh and unforgiving on Percy's skin as Jason moved down his collarbones to his chest.

They hadn't gone quite this far before.

Usually, they returned to kissing before they could explore too much, since they had wanted all four of them to be comfortable with each other before anything else happened.

Now, Jason didn't seem to care anymore, his lips getting dangerously close to his nipple.

Percy sure as hell wasn't going to stop him.

"Well, damn. That's certainly one sight I wasn't expecting." Will remarked as he exited the bathroom, and Percy groaned, already reaching out to keep Jason there.

Unfortunately, Jason apparently hadn't even intended to move away, which meant that Percy's desperate attempt had been absolutely unnecessary – and of course blatantly obvious.

Jason looked up at him with a mischievous grin, raising one cocky eyebrow at him.

Percy only had time to blush and huff and decide Jason was _the worst_ – before Jason proved him right by sucking his nipple into his mouth, making Percy let out a sound that reminded him of a dying whale.

Desperate and loud.

Jason seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then seemed to get the hint Percy liked it, because he continued, seeming…oddly curious, to be honest.

Yeah, right, as if Jason didn't know what to do with-…

He couldn't finish that thought as Jason gave his nipple a gentle tug, luring another moan out of him.

"Shit, that's hot. Jason, switch to the other one, it's more sensitive."

Fuck you, Will.

Percy opened his mouth to complain, but Jason of course instantly followed Will's advice, and Percy thrust his head back into whatever he was laying on as Jason started his ministrations on his other nipple.

 _Holy-…_!

He gasped and moaned, his eyes now permanently shut so he wouldn't have to look at any smug faces, and his fingers started moving from Jason's head to his shoulders.

Jason had such broad shoulders, so unlike Nico.

Percy had no idea what to do with them, so he ended up letting go, anyways, instead letting his arms drop to his side uselessly as he tried to ever so subtly arch into Jason's touch.

Jason seemed to notice, anyways, smirking against his skin before letting go of his nipple with another timid tug on it.

He just _knew_ Jason was going to say something, so he instantly had his hands back at the sides of Jason's face and tugged him back up to meet his lips in a kiss.

Jason had the audacity to chuckle, though it seemed pleased, not teasing, and Percy decided to let him get away with it for now.

He couldn't even make himself try to dominate the kiss, instead letting Jason take his breath away with his tongue.

They _should_ probably stop now, or they'd be the next going through a very rushed handjob.

Not that Percy would _really_ mind.

Jason gave him a last tantalizing swirl of his tongue, then they parted, both of them breathless, both of them grinning at each other.

Percy knew he _should_ probably rant at him or say something at the very least, to not make it seem as if he was enjoying it _quite_ this much…but at the same time, he couldn't really be bothered.

This was Jason.

He probably already knew, anyways.

"Aww, you're stopping already?" Will asked next to them, and he actually did sound almost disappointed.

Jason pushed himself up to kneel between Percy's legs, and they both looked sideways at where their two boyfriends sat huddled together, their faces slightly flushed, their pupils dilated.

 _Somebody_ seemed to have enjoyed the show.

Well, _two_ somebodies.

"Didn't know you were into it that much." Percy teased, and Nico instantly blushed, while Will shot him a dry look.

"Duh. You should have seen your face, Gorgeous. Who'd have guessed Jason could make you look so far gone?"

Wow, he just admitted to it like that.

Could anybody believe it?

Usually, Will did all in his power to deny the most obvious things, but here he was, admitting freely he enjoyed watching Jason…watching _Jason and Percy_ ravish each other.

Though Percy really hadn't done much.

Jason didn't seem to mind, though.

In fact, Percy had a hunch that was part of the reason why Jason looked so smug.

Wait a moment, Jason was looking at him smugly?

 _Scandalous_.

"Fuck you, Jason." He grumbled, and Nico snorted, while Jason raised an eyebrow, looking him up and down for a moment, smug grin still perfectly in place.

"Maybe some other day, Percy."

Will let out an exaggerated and drawn out 'Ooh!' that reminded Percy of the Apollo cabin, while Nico let out a small, startled gasp.

Percy couldn't even react for a moment, merely staring at Jason speechlessly.

Had he just…

Well.

 _Well_.

The silence stretched on, but Percy was too busy with the visuals in his head, thinking of Jason and him, of Percy _topping_ Jason, of paying him back for making Percy gasp and groan so freely, of-…

"Somebody's daydreaming. And drooling. Jason, you know he's going to be dreaming of your butt tonight, right?" Will remarked, and Percy self-consciously wiped at his mouth, though he was very well aware he _still_ wasn't drooling.

Jason chuckled quietly, stroking over Percy's knees for a moment before moving away from between his legs.

Percy had half a mind to wrap them back around Jason and pull him close, but then didn't.

Instead, he rolled over and pushed himself up, studying Will for a moment.

"You're not naked." He remarked, then put his hand on Will's shoulder to dry his hair.

The guys never asked for it, but Percy actually liked doing that.

It was tricky, but it made him feel useful.

"I'm not." Will agreed, trying to suppress a grin.

"Damn, Percy, you really want to see us naked, huh?" Jason asked, sounding amused, but Percy merely shrugged.

"I still think it's a great idea!"

"Then why don't you start?" Will suggested, but Percy hesitated.

Then he eyed him skeptically from the side.

"How high is the chance that I'll end up being the only one who does it?" He asked dubiously.

Sure, he trusted them enough not to laugh at him or anything, but he _did_ know Will liked to backtrack quickly, and Nico could be rather shy by times.

Jason…he probably wouldn't do it just because there was no reason for him _to_ do it.

Mean.

Percy had been looking forward to that.

Will huffed indignantly, as if sensing his disappointment.

"Hey, we already agreed that we'd do it, Perce. It's just…we're only human, too. We're anxious, you know?"

Wasn't the whole point of this to get them more comfortable with each other?

Maybe Percy was being stupid again, but…oh well, whatever.

"So if I do it, you'll do it, too?" He asked skeptically, and Will rolled his eyes, motioning for him to come closer.

Percy automatically did, and when Will lifted his chin slightly, Percy leaned forward and placed a peck to his lips.

"If you do it, I'll do it, too. Promise. Or do you want to do me and I do you?"

That…sounded so wrong.

Percy bit his lip, and Will snorted, slapping his shoulder.

"You dirty-minded person! You know what I meant!"

Jason chuckled behind them.

"If you two start, I'll join in." He called over, and Will shot him a dark look over Percy's shoulder, making Percy's lips twitch.

"Don't say it like that! Also, what are _you_ shy about?" Will remarked, and Jason huffed indignantly, as if he had every right to be shy.

Percy studied Will's freckles, noticing they were coming closer – then he noticed that was because he was leaning forward again, moving his lips along Will's cheek gently, not even quite kissing.

Will chuckled quietly, his hand moving to Percy's arm to stroke over it.

"There, there. So affectionate. So, you want to do it? Or want to wait another night?"

Oh, he wanted to do it, alright.

He wanted to do anything and everything.

Percy moved his lips towards Will's ear, and Will stilled for a moment, holding his breath.

Yeah, apparently, Will had _really_ sensitive ears.

He changed course, instead moving down Will's neck to place timid kisses there, before nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck.

Will chuckled, relaxing again.

"I want to." Percy replied, and Will gave a small nod.

"Alright. Nico? Are you okay with it?"

"Me? I…ah…yes." Nico stammered, jumping a bit next to them, and Percy turned his head for a moment to shoot him a reassuring smile.

Nico noticed and tried to smile back, and Percy noticed how fidgety and nervous he was.

Aww, it was going to be okay.

Awkward as hell, but still okay.

"Jason?" Will asked, and Percy felt Will's hands moving from Percy's arms to his sides and downwards.

Yeah, this was definitely going to be awkward.

"Go for it." Jason replied behind them, and the anticipation and unease inside Percy grew.

"Okay. How do you want to do it, Percy? I take yours off, you take mine off? Want to lay down or stand up? Blanket, no blanket?"

Oh gods, too many questions.

Couldn't they just _do_ it, without negotiating everything?

Percy sighed, going through his options.

"Let's lay down, I don't care about blanket or not."

"Blanket." Nico put in next to them, and Percy could feel Will nod.

"Hey, since we're sleeping like this, what about our sleeping arrangement?" Jason interrupted _right when Will and Percy started moving_.

Oh, _come on_.

Couldn't they just get done with it already?

"Well, if possible, I'd like to be the big spoon only." Will muttered, but Percy was pretty sure they had all already known that.

"Nico? Percy? Any wishes?"

They shook their heads, and Jason nodded, holding up the blanket for them.

Why was he always the blanket holder?

Why did they need that blanket, anyways?

Then again, even though Nico had insisted on the blanket, Nico was also the one always getting rid of the blanket, so there was that.

Will gave Percy another look, as if telling him 'This is your last chance to say no'.

It wasn't.

They had agreed on their second day together that all four of them _had_ to stop the moment somebody said no, no matter in what situation or context, and no matter how difficult it might seem to be.

He followed Will under the blanket, letting him take up the space next to the wall, facing him, and could hear Nico and Jason stripping down to just their boxer shorts before following.

"Percy is so excited about this, guys." Will sold him out, and Percy huffed indignantly, though he noticed the tension seemed to lessen the tiniest bit as they laughed.

"That's because it's an absolutely crazy idea. Like ice skating in the middle of the night, with cleaning harpies around and all." Nico muttered behind him, and Percy grinned at the memory.

"We should go skinny dipping once the water is warm enough." He suggested, but that just earned him three immediate 'No'-s.

 _Mean_.

His hands moved down Will's sides to the waistband of his boxer shorts, and Will took a deep breath, placing his hands on Percy's.

"Okay, I start?" Will asked, uncertainty in his voice, and Percy nodded, before nerves got the better of him after all, and he leaned forward to kiss Will softly.

Will smiled against his lips, then started tugging Percy's underwear down.

It felt weird, knowing he was getting naked with the guys without anything sexual happening first.

If this was happening out of a heat-of-the-moment-thing, he knew he wouldn't think twice about it.

Percy pushed his hip up to let Will tug them down better, and Will pulled away from the kiss to move lower, making Percy momentarily self-conscious, though he decided not to check whether Will was looking.

Instead, he helped getting the boxer shorts off his legs, and then there he was, _naked_.

Will moved back up, and Percy instantly hid his face at his neck, trying to fight the surge of anxiety that washed over him.

"Alright, now you do me." Will nudged him, and he swallowed, knowing full well Will could feel how he felt.

He nodded, then moved his hands back to Will's boxer shorts, hesitating one last moment.

Then he pulled them down, and Will's fingers clawed his arms for a moment, before he nodded and shifted to let him work better.

Percy felt his face heating when it was his turn to move lower, and he'd love to say he didn't peek – but he did.

He also cursed the blanket for obscuring most of his view.

However, with the momentary flash of light when Will moved his arm, he did see…

"Now I get why Jason calls you 'Freckles' with that certain undertone." Percy remarked when he pulled Will's boxer shorts out and threw them off the bed.

" _You peeked_!" Will exclaimed, sounding and looking absolutely _betrayed_.

"Duh. You should see them up close, Percy." Jason suggested, and Percy _did_ want to do just that.

"Do you mean he… _oh_ …" Nico mumbled behind him, and Percy grinned to himself.

Will tried to look at him reproachfully, but couldn't quite manage, not with that blush on his cheeks, and his freckles glowing.

"It's adorable! And sorry, I couldn't resist. You can peek too, if you want?" He offered, though the thought of Will checking him out right now made him more than a little self-conscious, especially given that he was half-hard.

Then again, Will had seemed the same way, so he guessed it was okay.

"So you two are naked? Splendid. Nico, are we going to do it ourselves, or do you want me to…"

"You can. If you want." Nico instantly replied, and Percy wondered whether it was just his own excitement, or whether they seemed a tiny bit more eager now.

Or maybe they were just extremely nervous.

Or maybe both.

He and Will both glanced around, and weren't surprised when Jason instantly moved closer behind Nico, his hands disappearing under the blanket.

Stupid blanket.

Nico's face turned pink, then he noticed Percy and Will watching and straight-out hid his face in his hands with a small wail.

"Hey, it's really not that bad." Percy soothed, turning around to stroke through his boyfriend's hair.

Will snorted.

"Yeah, we can't even see anything!"

He sounded so upset about it, too.

Percy shot him a pointed look, then blinked when he felt Will coming closer from behind.

Alright, _weird_.

They weren't touching yet or anything, but the thought of Will coming closer when he was _naked_ was most definitely _different_.

Then again, it was only _one_ layer difference, what was the big deal, even?

This was it, Percy should have cuddled naked with Nico more often.

…Why hadn't they, again?

Jason threw Nico's boxer shorts over his shoulder, and Nico looked ready to combust.

"I'm _naked_."

Wasn't he just adorable?

"Me too." Percy grinned at him, and Will hummed in agreement behind him.

Nico stared at them, then shook his head with a small 'This is crazy!', before he turned around and…surprised the hell out of Jason (and them) as he suddenly dived under the blanket to help him out of his boxer shorts.

No, seriously, they could see Jason's eyes widen in surprise for a moment before he started blinking rapidly, though he certainly didn't stop Nico in any way.

Then, Jason suddenly blushed and huffed, and there was a small sound from under the blanket.

"Sorry, Jason!" Nico exclaimed, sounding a tiny bit breathless.

Wait, what had happened?

"No need to apologize, Nico." Jason replied, and when he noticed the guys staring at him expectantly, he merely shot them a rather satisfied smirk.

 _Ass_.

Nico came back from his adventure, throwing Jason's boxer shorts off the bed, too, his face beet red.

"We're naked." He noted, and Percy snorted.

Yes, they sure were.

 _Something_ nudged against his lower back for a moment, then Will pulled back a tad further from him.

"Cuddling is going to be fun tonight." Percy commented wryly, and Will and Jason chuckled.

"Indeed. I'm sorry, Percy. Nerves seem to be getting the better of me at the moment." Will muttered behind him, and Percy glanced behind him.

"No worries. I trust your freckled dick not to try anything funny."

That comment earned him Will's fist to his shoulder, though it didn't hurt one bit.

"Watch it, or my freckled dick might reconsider."

"As if." Percy shot back, and Nico groaned.

"This is going to be a long night, isn't it?"

Oh yes, it was going to be.

...

"You'd guess he'd come tell _us_ first, but no, not a single message, not a single prayer saying 'Oh, hey dad, we're dating now'. Nothing. But, of course, _that kid's_ mother gets an IM-call and _everything_." Hades grumbled as he sat on his throne just for the hell of it, his wife right beside him, reading a book.

She and her weird streaks sometimes.

There one would guess she had sneaked away from her mother and down here to spend some time with _him_ , but instead, she had only come to read in peace, apparently.

She was just as rude as his own son.

There he let him and his friends stay, did all in his power to keep that sun boy protected, bent several rules so they could have 'fun', and tried to give them a good vacation before the apocalypse came crashing down, and _this_ was the thanks he got?

Officially, he had still not been informed of his son dating all three of those…kids.

But, _of course_ , Sally Jackson got to know first thing.

Hades huffed in annoyance, pushing himself back into his throne a bit more.

His wife, as compassionate as always, merely chuckled, turning a page in her book.

"Oh, don't be like that. You know how it is to be young and foolish. They are so excited and happy about finally being together, you think he's really going to think of the _Underworld_? You know very well that Nico isn't very fond of the darkness." She reasoned, and Hades grumbled to himself even more, though he knew she was probably right.

It was a shame, though.

He had hoped his son would…well, learn to be okay with this place.

After all, Hades had even taken it upon himself to refurnish his room and all!

That had been a lot of work!

Especially considering he had had to leave the Underworld in the care of Alecto (which had been a very bad idea) so he and Persephone could go up into the human realm and act like… _humans_.

Ugh, he was never setting foot inside an _Ikea_ again.

How did humans survive that, anyways?

Maybe he had underestimated them, after all.

Then again, that 'game store' – which hadn't even had anything he'd consider a 'game' at all, instead only holding weird small cases and a bunch of cardboard boxes with plenty of obnoxious colors and fancy ( _ugly_ ) writing on them – hadn't been much better, either.

 _And the looks they had gotten._

He was never listening to his wife again when it came to clothing choices.

Yeah, if he ever had to set foot in the upper world again, he'd march down the streets in his robe of the damned, _wife and her crazy fashion ideas be damned_.

"Still." He grumbled, but she didn't seem very moved.

"Just give him some time, I'm sure he'll let you know soon." She replied, her nose still in that book.

What was she even reading?

He glanced at the cover as she turned another page, and rolled his eyes to himself.

"You and your Greek heroes."

She merely shrugged, not even looking up.

"It's a good book."

Yeah, whatever.

"Maybe I should pay him a visit." Hades mused, more to himself than her, sitting up at that _splendid_ idea.

Now that Nico wasn't just dating that Jackson-kid, that meant Hades, as a good and responsible father, should have a little _chat_ with that sun boy and the Roman/Greek-kid.

"Isn't he asleep by now?" She put in, and Hades slumped again.

Oh.

He flicked his wrist and made an alarm clock with human time appear out of thin air, but kind of forgot about gravity, and the thing went crashing down into the ground before he could catch a glimpse of the time.

His wife merely laughed and turned another page, while several undead came rushing forward out of nowhere to clean up the mess.

Ugh.

Hades crossed his arms in front of his chest again and let himself fall back into his throne.

"This is stupid."

Persephone didn't say a word.

"I'm going to check on him." He decided, and was about to get up, when she suddenly snapped her book shut.

"No, you won't."

He turned towards her with a miffed expression

"I am the Lord of the Underworld, I do what I want." He stated sourly, but she just looked back at him completely unfazed.

"First of all, don't use that tone of voice with me, mister. We both know I lead this place just as much as you do, if not even more. Second of all, you know how important this is to Nico. Let him be happy and enjoy himself. Think about it, he probably thinks you already know, because you're a god. That woman couldn't have any other way of knowing, of course they called her. Third of all, do you _really_ want to show up in that cabin right now, unannounced, and with no idea what they're up to at this very moment?"

Hades opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again.

He hated it when his wife was right.

Nico probably _did_ think he already knew.

(He _did_ know, after all.)

But _still_!

His son had even sent him a _Christmas card_!

Even though they did not even _celebrate_ that strange and useless holiday!

Nico could send him _that_ , but he couldn't mention that he had finally managed to make things work between himself and those three troublemakers?

Seriously, if it wasn't for Persephone's last argument, he'd _so_ show up in his cabin right now.

However…his wife was right.

There were things no father wanted to see their child doing.

Hades grumbled loudly, putting his elbows on the arm rests of his throne to prop his head up on them.

"Fine."

Silence.

"You check on him, then." Hades decided, and Persephone gave him that _look_.

The one that said she had _known_ he'd say that, but that she couldn't believe he'd actually do it.

"What? I don't want to see them engaged in any physical activities. However, if it's safe to go, I will. I'll need to talk to the kids, won't I?" He reasoned, but she didn't look convinced, nor impressed.

"You really don't. You nearly made the Jackson kid wet himself with your last talk. How do you think my sun boy will react when you suddenly show up and act like the big, creepy dad that will drag them into the Fields of Punishment single-handedly if they dare touch your son the wrong way?"

He made a face.

"Well, I _will_ drag them there, it's only fair to warn them first, right? Plus, it's not my fault that Jackson kid is a wimp." He argued, and his wife rolled her eyes.

"You kept telling him he's not good enough for your son and that he should think about his happiness. You knew full well he was already doubting himself more than enough."

Yeah, well, he didn't like the kid much, okay?

"But I told him that so he'd realize Nico wanted the other two, too! I was _trying to help_!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms up and making a couple of skeletons explode by accident.

Oops.

He made a face, watching the bones scurrying around to set themselves back together.

Persephone sighed.

"Well, your help wasn't very helpful. But you didn't want to listen to me, did you now? I told you, if you want them to figure things out, then either leave them to themselves, or help the Jackson kid out. Not scare him and make him doubt himself even more."

Hades shot her a sulky look.

"Well, it _did_ make them get closer, though."

She waved off.

"Unimportant. They'd have gotten there by themselves a day or so later, anyways."

Unfair.

" _You_ didn't do anything to help them, either." He remarked, and she sighed loudly, before moving her hand through the air briskly and making an image appear out of thin air, looking like the shadows his son managed to conjure up around him (when he actually was in control of his powers, that was).

Hades wanted to peek, but then remembered Persephone's words, so he moved his hand over his eyes, instead.

"Are they decent?" He asked, but his wife didn't immediately reply.

"Well…" She then started, and he wasn't sure he even _wanted_ to hear the rest of her sentence.

"They're not having sex, if you mean that." She then murmured, and he was about to lower his hand, but something about her voice made him halt, thinking there was more to it than she might let on.

"But?" He asked when that evil woman didn't continue, and she chuckled.

"Well…they're naked. Just naked. They're in bed, cuddled together, your son beet-red in the face, and they're naked. I will never understand humans."

Yeah, Hades wouldn't, either.

"Well, that ruins my plans of showing up unannounced, I guess. As much as I'd like to scare the Jackson kid, I'm pretty sure I don't want to see his-…"

"Yes, darling, I get it. What a wonderful father you are, so respectful of your son's privacy. I love how you prioritize your son's comfort over any other, foolish reasons not to show up in his cabin and wreak havoc on those poor boys. It is truly remarkable." His wife sassed him, and he huffed and let his hand drop from his eyes to shoot her a glare that hopefully conveyed he _still_ didn't like that Jackson kid.

But then, his gaze fell on the screen, and those four boys, and his own son, looking unhealthily red in the face, but…Hades thought he also looked rather happy.

"Just look at them, though. They're finally together. Come on, admit it, you're happy for them. No matter how upset you are about them not letting you know, you're still happy for them." Persephone mercilessly called him out, and Hades sighed.

Yeah…maybe a little bit.

"My children so rarely experienced happiness." He said quietly, and found her hand on his.

"I know. But he's doing so well, don't you think?"

"He is." He agreed, looking back at the screen until his wife let it dissolve.

They sat there in silence for a long moment, both of them just following their own thoughts.

"They're so young. It's not fair." Persephone then said quietly, and Hades turned to look at his wife.

"I told you not to get attached."

"Says the one doing everything in his power to make them comfortable. They grew on you much more than on me, and you know it. Even the Jackson kid."

Hades didn't reply.

Getting attached was dangerous, especially for them.

Then again, these kids were their only hope, as cruel as it was.

"They have to face so many horrors, and so soon, too." Persephone whispered sadly, shaking her head to herself, and Hades squeezed her hand – a gesture he had seen Nico and Perseus doing countless times.

"They still have some time, though."

"Not enough. Never enough." Persephone argued, looking grave.

Yes, she had gotten attached.

"They'll make it." Hades reasoned, and his wife sighed deeply.

"I hope they will."

"They will."

Persephone shot him a small smile.

"You got attached."

Hades sighed.

But he didn't argue the statement.


	2. Chapter 2: The Thing About Permission

**A/N:** Hello Cupcakes :D

As promised, here the next chapter :3

(Mild Trigger Warning for this chapter, as there's mention of abuse/domestic abuse.)

Wish you guys all the best~  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 02: The Thing About Permission**

When Will woke up the next morning, he was snuggled into Jason's chest with Nico wrapped around him from behind, and Percy behind Jason, stroking through Will's hair with a soft, lazy smile.

"Good morning, sun-bug. You're naked."

Will gazed at him quietly for a long moment, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

What…?

He looked down at himself.

True, he was naked.

Oh yes, they had actually pulled through with that last night.

Percy and his crazy ideas (okay, he had helped, but still).

Will gazed back at Percy, blinking slowly.

Then he grabbed hold of Jason's arm and tugged it into position to cover him.

"Mean." Percy remarked with a grin, and Will's lips twitched, before he closed his eyes again, wishing he could sleep once more.

Sleep…sleep…

"How bad was my nightmare?" He asked tiredly, and Percy sighed.

"Pretty bad. The water helped, of course, but you were still pretty out of it. You don't remember?"

He didn't.

He thought he could remember opening his eyes and seeing Percy with a wet cloth once, but that might have also just been from the past nights.

Will sighed, feeling Percy stroking through his hair again, then over his cheeks.

Smiling, he leaned into the touch slightly, taking note of Percy's values, as well as the flow of affection and warmth inside him.

He was so hopeless, sometimes.

Such a gentle soul.

Will had seen Percy around Camp so many times before, and everybody had heard the stories, but, while people loved to describe him as 'loyal' and the like, nobody ever mentioned just how _kind_ Percy was.

Nico shifted behind him, and Will froze momentarily, the thought 'Wait, if I'm naked, that means _they_ are naked, too' rushing through his mind.

But then he brushed it off, instead focusing on the nice feeling of Nico's skin against his own.

"If you need me to do something, tell me, yeah? I just didn't want to try anything before, since both Jason and Nico hate to be urged to move, and you looked kind of happy where you were." Percy said quietly, and Will opened his eyes again to study Percy's expression.

See? Kind soul.

Though Will didn't need his help.

He'd be fine.

"I know the difference, Percy. At least when I'm awake."

He couldn't guarantee he might not one day wake up in terror because he thought Kyle was back.

Will closed his eyes, trying to push those thoughts firmly away.

He was still in bed.

With his boyfriends.

And he had forbidden himself of thinking about Kyle when he was in here.

Any other time of the day, any other place, fine.

Here? No.

Percy's hand stroked over his cheek again.

"Will?"

Will hummed in reply, leaving his eyes closed.

"Do you need permission to come?" Percy asked quietly.

Out of nowhere.

Will flinched, then turned perfectly still, his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

 _What?!_

Wait, how did Percy know?

How had he found out?

Yesterday?

During his handjob with Nico?

No, Will hadn't let it show, hadn't needed to let it show, because Nico had been so unintentionally wonderful and indirectly given him permission by asking him to come soon.

How did Percy know?

Had he…

Will opened his eyes slowly, looking at Percy.

He didn't look pitying or disappointed, much less angry, but…Will could sense a sort of sadness, anyways.

He didn't like it.

"Let me guess. My handjob with Jason." Will muttered drily, and Percy made a face, showing him he was right.

Will pulled his hands away from Jason's chest, instead curling into himself a little bit.

"It's…it's _difficult_ …" He mumbled, but Percy shook his head, reaching out to stroke over his cheek again.

"Will, it's okay if that's the case. But you need to tell us that. You should have told _him_ that."

He wasn't scolding or anything, but Will still felt scolded, anyways.

As if he didn't know.

Of course he should have told Jason.

Of course he should have told the guys.

Before Percy had figured it out, anyways.

Of course Percy had figured it out.

Will had told him _everything_ , after all.

Gods, this was just horrible.

"I don't _want_ it to be that way, okay? I didn't _know_ it would be that way." He argued, though he knew it wasn't Percy's fault.

Percy's hand halted on his cheek.

"When did you find out?" He asked gently, though Will knew he was under no obligation to reply.

Percy was merely giving him the opportunity to have an excuse to talk about it.

Will considered for a moment whether he did want to talk about it or not.

Then he sighed, his arms still wrapped around himself.

"The night in the pillow corner, I guess."

Percy took a deep breath.

Then his hand started stroking over his cheek again.

"How did that go?"

Will turned his head towards the pillow.

"I…got close, and then it suddenly struck me that I didn't have permission. It was out of nowhere, but once the thought was there, I couldn't un-think it, you know what I mean? He…he did everything right, and I didn't _want_ permission, Percy. I'm not stupid, I know I'm allowed to…to do whatever the hell I want, really. But when you're…when you're _there_ , it doesn't matter what you know and what you don't, you just…you need the freaking permission, or you'll hold back until it hurts, the sick fear of being punished coursing through you like poison!" He babbled, and Percy shifted, sitting up to climb over Jason, so he could get to Will.

Will allowed him to squeeze between them and wrap his arms around him.

He wasn't even crying or anything, but he still felt like shit, and Percy's hug was much appreciated, even though it probably _was_ a bit awkward since they were both naked.

"I thought everything went well for you two?" Percy asked cautiously, stroking up and down his back, and Will snuggled into his chest a bit more, adoring the slightly salty scent that always stuck to Percy.

"It did. It was great, Percy. He was great. As I said, he did nothing wrong. It was just that thought that suddenly smacked me in the face out of nowhere. But…well, we managed, anyways." He explained, but Percy still seemed doubtful.

"And whatever he did helped?" Percy asked after a while.

Will thought back to how Jason had suddenly leaned over him, looking down at him with so much adoration, so much awe, telling him he was beautiful with so much conviction, with so much honesty…

"Yes." He replied, and Percy seemed to wait for him to elaborate.

Will was so not going to tell him he had a thing for praise, though.

At least not today.

"So, if you need permission, but don't want it, is there something else we can do, then?" Percy asked carefully, and Will made a face.

Oh. _That_ was why he had waited for Will to tell him.

Will shrugged.

"I don't know. I…think it mostly worked because it happened spontaneously, and I wasn't expecting it, and it just sort of…well, it sort of took my composure away, okay? Same as last time. He simply has perfect timing, okay?" He knew that absolutely didn't answer Percy's question, but Percy didn't point it out, instead continuously stroking over his back.

"I bet he does. You still should have told him, Will. He'd have been scared out of his mind if you had broken down crying or something." Percy pointed out, and Will huffed.

"I wouldn't have done that. Over my dead body. I'd have simply…" He trailed off, wondering what he _would_ have done, thinking back to the urgency and despair he had felt in both situations.

"What? Begged some more until he either caught the hint or until it hurt too much and you forced yourself to let go, even though you _just_ said you were scared of punishment? Will, you're supposed to _enjoy_ yourself."

This time, it _did_ sound as if Percy was scolding him.

"I did enjoy it!" He argued defensively, but Percy shook his head stubbornly.

"You're supposed to enjoy _all of it_ , Will. Not a part of it, then fear for your life, then the rest of it."

That…was probably a good point, but Will still huffed, anyways.

"Well, now I can't really tell him anymore, can I now? He'll get upset and doubt himself again, you know how he can get." Will sulked, but Percy pinched his side.

"You _better_ tell him. He probably _will_ be upset, but you should rather let him know now, instead of letting him figure it out by himself. You know what happened the last time you let him think."

 _Ugh_.

"Don't even give me that face, sun-bug. If you explain it to him, he'll understand. I mean, I understand why you didn't just blurt it out the first time, I totally get that. But why not before that handjob? He probably wouldn't even have questioned anything." Percy's voice was soft again, but Will still huffed.

"I don't _want_ permission, Percy. I don't want to bother anybody, either. And I know how it sounds. I don't…I don't want it to affect me, okay? I don't want anything _he_ has done to affect me now."

"It's not like we'll judge you, sun-bug. I told you that before." Percy said, now sounding sad again.

Will grumbled and looked down.

Then he looked back up, feeling his face heating ever so slightly.

Right. They were still naked.

"It's not that. Or maybe it is. I don't know. I don't want Jason to know, anyways. I don't want to make him think he did anything wrong, because he absolutely didn't."

"Then explain that to him." Percy insisted, and Will wished it was that easy.

"Do you need me to help?" His boyfriend offered, but Will automatically shook his head.

"I could do something totally crazy and mention preferences or something. Tell you all how I don't like any signs of actual violence due to my step-dad and all. Then you can chime in and say-…"

"What did your step-dad do?" Will cut in, his alarm bells ringing.

But Percy waved off impatiently.

"That isn't important now, Will! Stop trying to change the subject. Anyways, as I was saying-…"

"Hold your horses, Percy, I want to hear that, too. And participate in the conversation." A new voice added, and Will's heart sank.

Oh.

Oh no.

 _Jason_.

Oh shit.

Why?

Oh…Percy had pushed between them…oh…

Oh gods, Will was an idiot.

There was movement behind him.

"If you're doing that, I'm doing it, too. So, Percy, what did your step-dad do, exactly? 'Actual violence'? You told me he was a _jerk_ ; you didn't tell me of any _violence_. _Explain._ " Nico's voice sounded from behind him, and Will flinched slightly as Nico moved his arm back around him properly, though he didn't move much closer.

His heart was beating in his throat, and he and Percy stared at each other with wide eyes and matching shocked expressions.

They had heard.

They must have heard.

Will closed his eyes and took a deep breath, hoping against hope there was some sort of miracle that had kept them from hearing, anyways.

"Well…he was a jerk. Major jerk. But it wasn't anything serious, guys. Not towards me, at least. My mom…" Percy trailed off, and Will's eyes snapped open.

" _He_ _hit your mom_?!"

Percy scowled, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

He had brought it upon himself.

Will halted, thinking of the way Percy had just tried to be supportive of him, to help him somehow…

His expression softened, and he reached out to stroke over Percy's cheek softly, similar to how Percy had done with him.

"Did he hit you, too?" He asked cautiously, and Percy's mouth formed a thin line, his eyes suddenly anywhere but on them.

Nico sat up.

"Percy, _what the fuck_? Why didn't you tell me?!"

Percy seemed to curl into himself, and Will tugged him closer automatically.

"What for? He's already pretty much dead. I told you, there was this accident with Medusa's head and all…" Percy argued insistently, but Will flicked his forehead.

"You should have still said something."

"Yeah, because you're one to talk." Jason huffed behind Percy, and Will flinched.

"Jason, not now. Percy, we talked about your family a hundred times. We talked about your _step-dad_ at least twenty. You could have told _me_. You _should_ have told me." Nico insisted, sounding absolutely upset.

Will inwardly cringed.

Nico hated having to find out things last.

He also hated having to find out things this way.

Plus, this certainly made for a shitty start into the day.

"But _what for_? This isn't anything that affects me in any way. Smelly Gabe didn't rape me. Sure, he pushed me around a bit and destroyed my stuff sometimes, and, well, he took my money and _maybe_ hit me a few or so times, but it doesn't affect me anymore! I don't even think about it, like, _ever_!" Percy insisted agitatedly, and now sat up, too, to glower at Nico.

Which made Will see Jason, who wasn't looking at him, instead laying on his back with his arm over his face.

He was angry, wasn't he?

He probably was.

Definitely upset.

Probably disappointed, too.

Will looked down and spotted the blanket to his feet, so he tugged it up and over himself, though more because he felt like hiding in general, not necessarily because he was naked.

"Look, I'd have told you if it was important, okay? But he's not worth it. I knew he was scum, and that was all there was to it. My mom didn't know he did anything to me. She thought it was just her, and she tried to keep that all hidden from me, so I didn't want her to find out about me. He did some pretty bad stuff, but he's gone now. Can we _not_ make a fuss about this, please? Because he's not even worth the breath." Percy continued, and Will glanced around at Nico, who was still huffing, looking agitated and upset, though he could see his expression softening considerably by the end.

Then his eyes hushed to Will, and it hardened again.

Oh great.

He almost waited for Nico to rant at him, too, but Nico merely gazed at him for a long moment, before looking past him towards Jason.

Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Percy, get your ass over here. I want to cuddle. _Now_."

Well.

Apparently, a pissed off Nico was very straight-forward.

Percy seemed to think something along the same lines, though he instantly moved to comply, climbing over Will to wrap his arms around Nico and make both of them flop down into bed behind him.

Will sighed, glancing towards Jason, who still hadn't moved.

Maybe he had gone back to sleep…?

Yeah, right, and pigs could fly.

(Well, there was this _one_ pig…)

Will moved over with the blanket still around him, inching closer to his boyfriend.

"Jason…" He started quietly, though he wasn't sure what to say.

"Yes?" Jason asked, not snapping at him, not sounding angry…but he sounded…tired.

Of Will. Of things always being this way.

Will cringed inwardly, but tried not to let it show, instead taking another deep breath.

"It's really not…you didn't…listen, it was just…"

Why did the guys always have to wake up at the worst times, seriously?

Jason sighed and moved his arm to look at him, studying his face for a moment.

Then he reached out with one arm, and Will snuggled against his side, wrapping the blanket around them both.

"Yeah, that's about it. I didn't listen." Jason muttered miserably, and Will's heart sank.

"That's not what I meant…"

"It's true, though. You were _begging_ , Will, and I know how much you hate that. I knew it back then, too. It struck me as odd, but did I ever really question it? _No_. Did I ask you what you were even asking for? _No._ Should I have been able to guess as much during the last time? _Yes_."

Why was it that they all always searched for the fault within themselves?

Well, except Percy sometimes, maybe, because he tended to first blame Jason for everything, but that was mostly meant in a joking way…

"Jason, there was no way you could have known, and I wouldn't have told you back then, especially not in the middle of everything."

"Why not?" Jason asked, still sounding (and feeling) so miserable.

Will stroked over his chest, drawing patterns on his skin.

"I…I didn't want you to think I was still…thinking about Kyle…I mean, first of all, I didn't want you to get upset at me. Back then, you didn't know about Kyle, but I knew that, if I mentioned that, you'd probably figure out the rest, and you'd either think I'm some sort of freak, or broken." He babbled, leaving out the self-derogatory 'Though both is probably true'.

Jason seemed to sense it, anyways.

"I wouldn't have thought that. Ever. And you shouldn't think that of yourself, either." He said quietly, though resolutely, and Will averted his gaze, instead catching himself drawing out Jason's blood vessels throughout his chest.

Erm, weird.

"Well, as I said, that was _back then_. But…now, I just thought it would be bad if I just suddenly come forth with it. I knew either you'd think it's because Kyle was here, or you'd realize I've been this way the last time already, and I didn't want either…"

"Then what do you want?" Jason interrupted, and Will halted.

What?

"Excuse me?"

Jason turned to look at him.

"You keep saying you didn't want this; you don't want that. What is it you want, then? How did you _want_ me to react? How would you want me to react _now_?"

Will blinked, slightly taken aback.

What…?

Jason studied his expression, then he let out a small sigh, his hand moving to stroke over the side of Will's face.

"Will, have you noticed you always try to predict how people will react, and it's always negative and in ways you don't like, yet you never even mention anything like 'I wish they'd react like this or that'?"

Will made a face.

Of course he had noticed.

But it was simply easier that way!

Less chance to get disappointed or shocked.

"That's because I don't. That's wishful thinking, Jason. My wishful thinking the past months was 'I hope the guys don't find out about Kyle', and we all know how well that worked out." He replied dryly, and Jason flicked his forehead.

He. Flicked. Will's. Forehead.

Will _scowled_.

"That's because _that_ was something you _should_ have let us know, and you know it. Plus, I'm sure there were plenty of other things you wished for. Or is it my imagination you were looking at Nico and Percy rather wistfully these past months?" Jason retorted, and Will opened and closed his mouth, unable to retort.

Oh.

He had him there.

Jason smiled at him, then rolled onto his side to stroke over Will's face better, inching closer to him under that very much not-needed blanket.

"So, you wished for that, didn't you? Deep down, you wished for this. For the four of us to get together. And we did. See? It doesn't always have to be bad. Now, if you had the choice, how would you have hoped I'd react once you told me?" Jason asked, and Will studied his chest in silence, pondering the question.

How _would_ he have wanted him to react?

Actually…he wasn't sure.

It would only be fair for all of them if Jason was upset, because he deserved to be upset, and Will _had_ messed up, he knew that.

But he'd have wanted Jason to be…understanding?

Was that bad?

Too ignorant?

Will wasn't sure.

He didn't want _pity_ , hell no, but…

Oh, whatever.

"I don't know." He replied at long last, though he knew that answered Jason's question as much as all his other statements had, so far.

"Can I tell you how I'd have reacted then? If you had told me?" Jason asked unperturbed, but Will didn't reply.

What was the point?

He already knew now, and not because Will had told him specifically, so what was the point of knowing how he _would have reacted_ , since it wouldn't be that way now anymore?

Jason moved closer, giving him a soft kiss on his forehead.

"I'd have been upset." Jason said quietly, and Will looked down at his hand on Jason's chest, though he instantly withdrew it.

Jason didn't let him move away though, instead moving his arms around him and tugging him closer, giving him some more gentle pecks that made no sense.

"About not knowing before, and not figuring it out." Jason continued, and Will's lips pursed.

"And I'd have been upset about making you feel as if you couldn't tell me that without upsetting me." Jason added, now trailing kisses down Will's nose, then along his cheek.

"But most of all, I'd have been happy that you told me." Jason said quietly against his skin, and Will shivered slightly.

"I'd have tugged you closer and held you…" He continued, and tugged Will closer, as if to emphasize his point.

Their chests touched.

Will tried to ignore the rest of their bodies for now.

"…and showered you in kisses, apologizing for putting you through that, and asking whether I can make it up to you somehow."

Will huffed in protest.

"There's nothing you-…"

"Shush. Let me love you, Will. Stop fighting my love. You know you love it." Jason interrupted him – then started blowing raspberries on his skin instead of kissing, even though it didn't even work out right.

Will squeaked and tried to escape, but Jason cackled and pursued, switching between showering him in kisses and blowing raspberries, until Will was a laughing mess beneath him with his hands in Jason's face to stop him.

It didn't stop him.

Instead, he snatched Will's hands and started kissing those.

Oh, he had that from Percy.

Most definitely.

Only Percy had ever really done that.

Will found himself gasping, though he wasn't immediately sure why.

It kind of…felt really nice…?

But it was just his hands!

Jason kissed them again, humming against his skin with a slightly amused look on his face, and Will wanted to scowl at him.

Instead, he closed his eyes and gasped again.

"You want to know what else I'd have done?" Jason asked softly, and Will forced his eyes open again, watching and feeling Jason kissing along his palm over his pulse point at his wrist.

"What?" Will asked, though he wasn't sure why it mattered, nor why he asked.

He wasn't sure of anything, to be honest, other than that he was out of breath and Jason was sitting on his thighs and things felt weird but also _good_.

"I'd have told you how beautiful you are." Jason said quietly, and Will felt his face heating, his dick of course taking its chance to twitch.

As if it hadn't already started hardening due to Jason's ministrations.

(And, well, it was morning, sue him.)

"How much I love you." Jason continued, trailing kisses up Will's arm to his shoulder, then to his neck, then to his lips.

"How adorable you look when you blush." Jason all but cooed, and Will wanted to roll his eyes, but Jason's lips pressed against his, and they felt so nice and alluring he couldn't do anything but let his eyes fall shut and return the kiss.

Jason's hands stroked up and down his sides, then over his chest and stomach, his touch seeming to get cooler the more Will's skin started to heat in arousal.

"Jason…"

"How pretty and special your freckles are." Jason continued unperturbed, before trailing kisses along his jaw towards his ear.

Gods, not his _ear_.

Jason tugged on his earlobe, and Will automatically turned his head to give him better access – which allowed him to actually see Percy and Nico, who were both watching with dazed expressions, their pupils dilated, their breathing almost as ragged as Will's.

Wait, where they just going to lay there and watch?

Jason started nibbling on his earlobe, and Will gasped, his eyes falling shut again, his mind blank once more.

Alright, he didn't care if they watched.

Jason smirked against his skin, then licked and nibbled along the shell of his ear for a while, teasing him as his hand still moved up and down Will's body.

Will wasn't sure when he had moved his arms, but when he next managed to pry his eyes open the tiniest bit, he realized he must have wrapped them around Jason at some point, holding him tightly and making their chests brush together.

More.

He wanted more.

Jason kissed down his neck now, nibbling every here and there, though not leaving a mark where Will wouldn't be able to cover it later.

Considerate fool.

As if Will cared.

"At…at least let me take a shower first…" Will complained when he felt Jason's lips and tongue moving down his collarbones to his chest.

He wasn't even sure where Jason was going with this, but he was pretty sure things were slowly beginning to escalate.

Not that he really minded, of course.

"You took a shower last night, love." Jason reminded him unperturbed, moving down his sternum to trail kisses over his ribcage.

Will's fingers started threading through his hair now, not necessarily directing him or keeping him anywhere, but holding onto him, anyways.

"But…" He started, but Jason had reached his stomach, and made no qualms to nibble on it to shut Will up.

"You taste great, Will. Now let me ravish you. Unless you _want_ me to stop?"

What a laughable question.

Over his dead body.

"No! But…" He started, then glanced sideways at Percy and Nico, who were both watching with heavy-lidded eyes.

Jason caught him looking and halted, tilting his head slightly.

"You want them to join in?"

Eh…what…?

Will blinked, momentarily confused.

Then he felt his face erupting into flames.

"Ah, no, that's not what I…I mean…well, they could, I guess, I wouldn't…"

Oh gods, this was _the worst_.

How exactly had they gone from 'Will, you majorly fucked up because you didn't tell us this tiny bit of crucial information' to 'Oh baby I'm going to ravish you so good and if you want, the guys can join in, too'?

"I'm happy watching. Or do you want me to leave? I can leave, too." Percy instantly offered, and Will found himself mildly confused again.

"Why would we want you to leave?" He asked, and Jason chuckled against his skin, licking over his lower stomach before blowing against it teasingly.

 _…_ _Fuck that guy and everything he stood for, really_.

Will closed his eyes and took a deep, controlled breath, trying to ignore how _nice_ that felt.

"Privacy." Percy and Nico replied instantly, and Will scoffed.

What did he want with privacy?

Didn't he already have that by being in this cabin with them?

Unless Hades showed up all of a sudden.

Yeah, that surely wouldn't be-…

" _Ah!_ " Will gasped as Jason's fingernails dragged over his skin on his lower stomach softly, so, so close to the tip of his hardening dick.

It was also that moment he realized he was still naked – and that Jason had mercilessly taken the blanket with him when he had started going down on Will.

Jason had the indecency to grin up at him in that strangely satisfied way, as if there was nothing better in the world than making Will utter these horrible noises.

Percy and Nico both shifted, and Will risked a glance at Percy – and downwards.

Yeah, _he_ was definitely hard, alright.

The blush on Nico's face behind Percy told him he was, too.

Okay, this was definitely _weird_.

Jason mouthed at his hip bone, and Will groaned – and because Jason of course just had to move at that exact moment, his legs _obviously_ had to just fall apart for him to get in between.

 _It was a reflex, okay_?!

Jason hummed, watching Will's face intently as he moved between Will's legs, before he leaned back down to trail kisses from his hip bone to the base of his dick.

(Which of course happily twitched away, that traitor.)

Wait, was he seriously getting a blowjob from Jason now?

Out of nowhere?

With the guys watching?

Just like that?

Jason licked from the base of Will's dick to his tip, and Will groaned, letting his head fall back.

Yes, yes he was.

Oh gods.

Oh. _Gods_.

"Say it if you want them to do anything, Will. I'm sure they're up for it." Jason reminded him, then placed open mouthed kisses along the base, probably making out those freaking freckles he seemed to like so much (which Will couldn't understand, but highly appreciated).

"I…I…I…" He started stammering, then cleared his throat, his eyes still squeezed shut tightly as Jason's hand went to help his task of pleasing Will, stroking his dick a few times before he started his open mouthed kisses again.

Gods, that felt _good_.

"I'm open for suggestions." Will blurted, unable to think of anything better right now, and a rush of amusement went through Jason momentarily, though it was quickly replaced by lust again.

Will wasn't even paying attention to his emotions.

They were so much like his own.

Was that weird?

He didn't care.

" _Kisses_. Do kisses work? Are kisses okay?" Percy exclaimed next to them, sounding breathless and near desperate.

Will only nodded his head wildly.

Or maybe he shook it, he wasn't sure.

But when he turned his head, Percy was already scrambling up and closer, pressing their lips together in a hungry kiss.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, that felt _good_.

Will's breath hitched in his throat and he moaned loudly as Jason licked over the tip of his dick, and Percy gasped against his lips as if he was feeling that, too.

He wasn't.

He just apparently really liked Will's reaction.

"C-Can I do that, too?" Nico asked breathlessly, suddenly appearing to Will's other side.

Will had no idea how he had gotten there.

He also had no idea what he was doing.

What they were doing.

They should probably look this up by times.

For now, this seemed to work just fine.

Will let go of Percy, just to turn his head towards Nico, who instantly cupped his face and drew him closer for an open-mouthed kiss.

It was a lot like Percy's in intensity, yet managed to feel a lot different, though he was too dazed to pinpoint what felt different.

Maybe it didn't.

Maybe he was imagining things.

It didn't matter.

What _did_ matter, was that Jason's lips closed around Will's tip, making him break away from both Percy and Nico as he let his head fall back to moan loudly.

Hot. Wet. _Heaven_.

"You're so responsive." Percy breathed in awe, and Nico moaned and let his head drop next to Will's.

"Please, can I touch you? Not much, just…you're so hot…" The Italian whispered, sounding _desperate_.

Will blindly nodded, and Jason started bobbing his head up and down as if to mimic him.

Gods, he was so glad Jason was holding his hips down, because he sure as hell wouldn't have been able to control himself otherwise.

Nico moaned and his hands were trembling as he started touching Will, stroking over his chest, his stomach, his arms, back to his chest, anywhere, really.

Percy was beginning to cover him in kisses from the other side, his breathing ragged, his lips and tongue restless as they wreaked havoc on his skin.

Gods, he loved these guys so much.

Jason moved lower on Will's dick, and Will groaned, jerking his hips into his hold helplessly.

"J-Jason!" He gasped, though he couldn't bring out the rest of his 'Please don't do anything stupid and choke, you're doing so freaking amazing already, Handsome'.

Jason seemed to understand, anyways, since he started moving back to lick over and around his tip again, making him momentarily see stars.

Then, Nico and Percy started simultaneously kissing along his neck, and Will thought he was going to _die_.

In all fairness, it would be a very painless and _amazing_ way to die.

(Much better than, you know, falling into a pit of darkness or the like.)

Will mewled, thrusting his hips upwards again helplessly, his head pushing back into the pillow as if that helped in any way, while Nico and Percy started licking and sucking along his neck, shivering and gasping.

It occurred to him that this was sort of strange, having all three of them on him, while he did nothing but enjoy it.

He felt Nico's leaking dick nudging against his side and instinctively made to grab it, wondering faintly where he had even had his hands all this time.

In Jason's hair? At his sides? It didn't matter.

Nico flinched and groaned against Will's skin.

"W-Will, you don't have to… _ah_ …"

 _Ha._

Now they were both moaning messes.

Yes, that made Will feel a lot better.

Percy chuckled against his skin, his hand joining Will's to slow his strokes a bit and make them a tad less frantic.

Shouldn't he be taking care of himself?

Will was about to ask, but Jason just had to choose _that_ moment to suck on him, his hand moving from Will's thigh to his balls.

He moaned loudly, freely, not even trying to suppress the volume of his sounds in the slightest at this point, though they certainly didn't seem to care.

Oh please, were they all that intent on getting him to blow already?

This was _crazy_!

What was this, even?

Was this what an orgy was like?

Will should have done his research on that.

If he came now, would they do this again sometime in the future?

Would all their blow- and handjobs be this way?

Will absolutely wouldn't mind.

At least he thought that until Jason started up a mind-blowing pattern of bobbing his head and licking over his tip, while Percy _found his ear_.

Nico whined next to him as both Percy's and Will's hands sped up on his dick, and he was rutting into their grips helplessly.

Will could only hear his moans in his ears, and his own sounds were frantic and crazy, becoming more and more frequent as he felt himself nearing his climax.

"I'm…I'm…" He started, then flinched, everything inside him recoiling slightly as he realized they hadn't allowed it, but they _had_ allowed it, but they hadn't said it _right now_.

"It's okay, babe. Just do it." Percy breathed against the shell of his ear, then nipped on it again, and Will gasped and groaned again, while Nico whimpered next to them, still pushing into their grip helplessly.

"Will, please, yes, I swear! If you don't…I need you to…to…ah…"

What?

Will found himself nodding dazedly, though he had no idea what Nico was talking about.

He felt himself nearing his orgasm, his free arm starting to grab at Percy's shoulder almost desperately, needing something to hold onto, his other hand moving sluggishly over Nico's dick.

Percy moved, taking Will's hand off Nico and winding his arms around him, apparently knowing full well what he wanted, needed, cried for between his gasps and groans and cries of pleasure.

Then Percy moved his hand back on a whimpering and pleading Nico, who was still glued to his side, and was now nipping at his neck dazedly.

"Guys… _guys_ …" Will warned, trying to signal somehow for Jason to stop, for Jason to pull off, because, hell, he was going to-…

Percy's lips found his ear again, and Will shivered and cried out, everything just happening _all at once_ – and then he came, his arms pulling Percy down and into him desperately, his hips bucking upwards into Jason's hold as the pleasure ripped through him, his vision going black momentarily.

Nico let out a low groan, his hands clutching Will as if his life depended on it, and he thought he could feel Percy's arm moving frantically, probably sending Nico over the edge, too.

Will couldn't focus, his head still at Percy's collarbone, his arms still tightly wrapped around him, and Jason was still between his legs, though he was now letting go of his dick, instead nuzzling his face against the base, while his hands stroked over Will's legs in long, soothing strokes.

Though Will did notice vaguely that he must have moved his legs somehow, since they were now over Jason's shoulders.

Oh gods, hopefully he hadn't hurt him.

Nico groaned and trembled next to him, and something warm and wet hit his side, signaling he, too, had found release.

Good.

Will let go of Percy and fell back into the sheets like a log, his eyes falling shut as he let out a deep, and absolutely satisfied, sigh.

Nico chimed in next to him, sounding out of breath and absolutely pleased.

Percy and Jason chuckled.

"That's one way to start the day." Percy remarked, and Will cracked one eye open to glance at him, taking note of his absolutely content expression even though he was still hard and his erection much neglected.

Then Will glanced down at Jason, who pressed a kiss to Will's hip bone before smirking at him rather smugly, moving up his body to give him a chaste kiss to the corner of his lips.

Will hummed contently, closing his eyes again.

"Jason, want me to give you a hand?" Percy asked hopefully, and Will's grin widened as he turned his head towards Nico for a super lazy but also super nice kiss.

"You came on the bed sheets." He notified him, and Nico mumbled a weak apology against his lips, before nibbling on his bottom lip.

Wasn't he just adorable?

"We're naked." Nico then mumbled dazedly, as if, even after spending the entire night like this already, and with them just having gone right down the sexual path, this was still shocking news to him.

Then, Nico hummed again, shifting closer and snuggling into Will's side, so Will rolled sideways to embrace him, wet spot all but forgotten until he felt it against his still hot skin – and by then it was too late, anyways, so he ignored it.

"What did I just say?" Nico asked groggily, and Will chuckled.

Somebody seemed a bit sleepy after climaxing.

"That we're naked."

There was moaning behind him, but he focused on Nico for now, who also moaned, but more in a sort of fluster or embarrassment, his face suddenly hiding at Will's chest.

"I meant to say 'I love you'."

Oh.

Will tried not to laugh, but ended up snorting, anyways, nuzzling his face into Nico's hair as he felt both their hearts beating similarly fast.

Nico's hands moved around him, and he turned his face upwards for another kiss, so they shared what felt like a few hundred, the moaning behind them becoming louder.

They seemed to be having fun.

"If I had the strength, I'd peek." Nico muttered against his lips, and Will giggled, making Nico giggle, too.

Then they were both giggling, pecking each other's lips (or faces, in general, since they missed a lot) every here and there.

Yes, this was certainly one way to start the day.

...

Jason shivered in utmost satisfaction, wanting to wrap his arms tightly around Percy and never let him go as they both sat there, their legs wrapped around each other, their cum all over the place, their breathing still ragged, and everything so absolutely _perfect_.

If Jason had had any left-over doubts about being able to go down the sexual road with Percy, they would have been absolutely gone now, that much was certain.

Percy managed to catch his breath first, chuckling softly – or trying to, though it sounded weird with them both so out of it, still.

Jason closed his eyes, humming contently as he dragged his lips over Percy's neck adoringly.

That had felt so _nice_.

He had to admit, he hadn't been sure whether Percy had actually been serious when he had offered to help him out.

Yesterday, when they had watched Will and Nico giving each other those very rushed handjobs, Percy certainly hadn't given him the impression he'd like to do anything with him, after all.

Percy's fingers brushed through his hair softly, his lips pressing against Jason's shoulder.

Mmh, this felt so nice, too.

Jason nibbled on Percy's neck some more, never wanting to stop.

Then, he realized what he was even doing.

This was Percy.

He was being overly affectionate with _Percy_.

Percy shifted ever so slightly, and Jason took that as his cue to pull back, realizing there were a lot of things he should rather be doing than smothering poor Percy, who probably didn't even know what was going on.

Sure, he had allowed Jason to pull him closer during their little make-out just now, but that had been out of the heat of the moment.

Percy had never given Jason the impression he wanted to be _affectionate_ with him.

The kisses they had shared so far had been full of lust and passion, not exactly gentle affection.

Not that Jason minded.

He was fine with whatever Percy would allow between them.

Percy gazed at him, still breathless, but seeming as content as Jason was, and Jason could feel his hand still brushing through Jason's hair.

Jason kind of really liked that.

He still pulled away, anyways, not wanting to take the risk and push too far, since his need for closeness and intimacy seemed to only grow by the second.

So, instead of giving in and freaking Percy out, Jason gave him another kiss before making to get up.

"I'll get a cloth. Be right back." He said quietly, and Percy looked as if he wanted to hold him back, his eyes flickering to the corner of their room for a moment, but then he let him go with a small nod and a smile.

Jason smiled back at him, then glanced towards Will and Nico, who were cupping each other's faces and whispering what sounded like the gentlest love confessions to each other that Jason had ever heard either of them utter.

Such adorable dorks.

They certainly seemed to enjoy their afterglow.

Jason wished he could be so openly affectionate with Percy, too.

Though he was pretty sure that was just because he was a sucker for intimacy, especially during his afterglows.

Jason glanced at his reflection in the mirror for a moment as he wet one of the cloths Nico had stored under the sink – just to blink when he saw the dark red marks now adorning his neck.

Damn, Percy…

Seriously, that guy had seemed to have made it his personal mission to get as many moans out of Jason as possible.

Given their competitive nature, Jason found he wasn't surprised in the slightest.

Jason shivered again as he touched one of them gently, then he shook his head, scolding himself for getting side-tracked.

He cleaned himself off quickly, then washed out the cloth – before reconsidering and getting a new one.

Sure, Percy hadn't seemed bothered in the slightest by kissing Jason even though he _had_ swallowed Will's cum (which had been _weird_ ), but that didn't mean he wanted to use a used cloth for clean-up.

Jason left the bathroom again hurriedly, beginning to feel slightly self-conscious when Will and Nico both turned their heads to look at him, watching him moving over to them.

Sure, he knew he didn't have anything to be ashamed of, but…he was still naked, and it definitely felt weird.

Luckily, nobody commented though, so he focused on climbing back onto the mattress and moving towards Percy, who had let himself fall backwards into the sheets with his arm over his eyes.

Jason wiped up their mixed come, resisting the urge to lean down and kiss him again.

He was yearning for intimacy and gentleness, not heated or challenging kisses.

But he wasn't going to push Percy to provide that.

Instead, he cleaned him up carefully, then moved to clean up between Will and Nico while he was at it.

Then he put the cloth to their other dirty laundry and flopped back into bed between Percy and Will.

Surprisingly enough, both of them instantly turned towards him, and Percy even threw an arm over him, while Will kissed him softly, whispering love confessions to him, too.

That…felt really nice.

Jason smiled, cherishing that warm and content feeling that was still flowing through him, and he shifted closer to Will, who was more than willing to provide all the affection he craved.

Sure, the day had started rather badly, what with him finding out in the worst ways possible that Will hadn't enjoyed their little moments quite as much as Jason had originally thought/hoped, and with Percy dropping that bomb about his step-dad, but…

 _This_ was still a rather very nice start into the day.

He certainly wouldn't mind doing that again, though he'd much prefer to sort out their actual problems and the like in different ways, under different circumstances, and at different times than at 7am in the morning.

But once those were solved, he was all for starting their future days like this.

And, _damn_ , Percy had a wonderfully soft and squishy backside that had felt absolutely perfect when Jason had grabbed it out of the heat of the moment.

Just…damn.

He definitely wanted to do _that_ again.

But that would have to wait until later.

For now, Jason wanted nothing more than to kiss along Will's neck and feel Percy trailing kisses along his shoulder and stroking over his side (which was surprisingly affectionate for _Percy_ , since this was Jason, not Will or Nico).

He loved it.

He loved them.

Good start into the day.

After a few set-backs.

But a good start into the day.

Definitely.

...

Percy wielded his sword with ease, countering Nico's attacks and laughing freely, even though they were in the middle of training.

Gods, they should start every day like today.

Not necessarily with all the serious conversation beforehand (especially not about his step-dad, thank you very much), but…damn…

That had certainly been _something_.

Will's expressions and sounds had been so wonderful up close, though.

Not to mention the way Nico had gazed at Will.

Who'd have thought his boyfriend would be this turned on by _noises_?

Because, well, that had been more than obvious.

Though it also reminded Percy that Nico seemed to have a thing for dirty talking, too – something Percy surely wasn't very good at, so he had only attempted it a few times, when the mood had been perfect and it had been near impossible to mess up.

Still, that had been…pretty hot.

He had almost hoped Will would try to touch him, too, but Will had already seemed overwhelmed with just touching Nico, so he hadn't pushed it, instead coming to his aid.

Which had turned out awesome, and had granted Percy the perfect excuse to get closer to Jason, seeing as they had both been hopelessly hard and desperate for relief.

Nico grinned at him cockily, something he only ever did when he had his sword out, and they rushed at each other again, slashing and stabbing and dancing around each other in a sort of circle, while the other kids watched in awe.

Jason was bigger than him.

Could anybody believe it?

Percy had refrained from commenting, but it had still been a blow to his pride.

He knew it didn't really matter, and that it wasn't Jason's fault or anything, but _still_.

Did he really _have_ to be bigger than Percy?

Couldn't the four of them just be roughly the same size and be done with it?

Percy huffed to himself, blocking Nico's next attack and rushing around him to strike him from behind, but Nico still possessed the quickest reflexes ever and countered the blow with ease.

At least Jason hadn't been cocky about it or anything.

Instead, he had almost seemed flustered when Percy had offered to help him out, blushing ever so faintly as Percy had openly checked him out.

By the way, since when was Jason sporting whole-body-blushes?

It was really cute, albeit unexpected.

Certainly destroyed the image of the perfectly composed and unaffected leader…

Percy had especially liked that.

In a way, things between them were still weird, though.

Jason had kissed him while they had had their hands around both their dicks together, and he had certainly seemed to like it, but afterwards, he had seemed…weird.

For a long moment it had felt as if he wanted to come closer, wanted to _cuddle_ , his lips against the side of Percy's neck, kissing him so, so gently.

But then, he had seemed to hesitate, had seemed uncertain, and before Percy had been able to make sense of it, Jason had pulled away, moving to the bathroom to grab a wet cloth, even though Percy could have easily used the water from the water fountain to clean them up.

Jason had done the cleanup, though, both of them and of the two giggling dorks that had been happily laying in Nico's cum and laughed about gods knew what.

Percy had kind of hoped for Jason to come back to him right after.

But Jason had remained distant, taking his time to take the cloth away, and Percy hadn't pushed it, instead waiting for Jason to come back.

He had returned to snuggle much closer to Will than Percy, though, which had stung a little bit, but…well, it was okay.

He couldn't blame him.

It wasn't as if Percy was upset or anything, after all.

If Jason didn't want to spend his afterglow with him, that was cool with Percy.

If he didn't want to be quite this close to him, that was cool, too.

Percy just kind of wished Jason would…well, _tell_ him.

Nico tried to corner him, and Percy let him on a whim, just to see whether he'd be able to get out of it again somehow.

Which proved to be a mistake, because he couldn't.

His boyfriend grinned at him so adorably smugly, though, so it was okay.

"You look so hot when you're slashing at me like that, babe." He called to him, and Nico snorted, his cheeks flushing ever so faintly as his eyes hushed towards the crowd of demigods that were watching them intently.

Aww, so there was his shy and adorable Nico.

"You're here to teach, not to flirt, Percy." Nico countered at long last, and Percy snickered, blocking his attack and feeling the wall against his back.

Oops.

"You're right. So, kids, now that I'm cornered, I'm going show you how I'm going to easily free myself." He told the kids wisely, and Nico raised an eyebrow.

"How do you think you're going to manage that?" He asked doubtfully, but Percy merely winked at him, looking back towards the kids.

"Anybody have any ideas?"

An Ares kid lifted his hand.

"Please, just yell your answers to the world, I'm kind of too busy protecting myself to call anybody up." Percy added.

"Feign an attack, then slip past and corner him, instead." The Ares kid called.

"Hack him to bits!" An Aphrodite girl suggested.

(He'd have to remember her, she was going to be scary once she grew up, he just knew it.)

"Trickery!" Two Hermes kids yelled.

Aww, they were going to make such great warriors.

Now, if only they had the chance to choose whether they wanted to be or not, and when they'd like to embark on that journey of a lifetime.

Percy sighed, looking back at Nico and blocking his blows, while Nico was still eyeing him with skepticism as well as curiosity.

 _Somebody_ was trying to figure out his next move, it seemed.

"Alright, very good. When fighting, there are always lots of decisions to make. You'll make them even when you don't know you're making them. So now, in this case, we have to analyze. Nico here is my only opponent, so I won't have to fear anybody else attacking me the moment I get past him and out of this corner. If there were more people or monsters, I might be better off staying here, after all, and letting them come to me. You understand that?" He asked, and Nico was kind enough to slow down a bit, so he could talk to the class without _actually_ fearing for his life.

The kids nodded, still watching the fight in awe.

"So, one suggestion was I should hack him to bits. We're not going to do that, of course, because I love my boyfriend dearly. But even if this was a real fight against a bad guy or monster, still stop and think for a moment whether that's a good idea. If it's a monster, it would be a waste of energy to keep hacking away at it. Slash through its vital points and let it dissolve, then move on to the next. If it's a person, you know the rules, anyways. We try not to attack other demigods until absolutely necessary, and mortals are safe from our weapons. Keep it that way." He warned them, and they all nodded.

Percy huffed.

What a placid class.

The kids he had had yesterday had argued about that.

"If you _do_ encounter a bad guy, and it's a life or death situation, also aim for the vital organs. You do _not_ want to tire yourself out unnecessarily by hacking away at them hundreds of times, just to then have them walking out of the fight victoriously in the end, anyways. Once they're dead, there's usually no reason to cut them apart, that's just gross. We don't do that. _Unless_ they have a tendency to heal up or reassemble, then tear them to shreds." He added as an afterthought and Nico snorted, though he didn't comment.

Hey, Percy was only readying them for the outside world!

"So, how _will_ you get out of that?" One kid in the back asked, and Percy guessed it was time for his marvelous plan.

He looked back at Nico, who raised an eyebrow and hefted his sword, ready to attack.

"Okay, watch and learn, kids." Percy exclaimed, then surged forwards, slashing at Nico in a high blow – which Nico of course blocked.

But then, Percy let go of his sword, and Nico's balance wavered, and the next moment, Percy's arms wrapped around Nico in a bear hug, lifting him up to turn them both in a circle, while Nico cursed and smacked his shoulder with his free hand.

Percy laughed loudly, turning them so Nico's back was against the wall, then he kissed along his jaw to his lips, though his chuckling and Nico's cursing surely made things a tad more difficult.

"You're the _worst_ , Percy." Nico argued, along with a bunch of Italian he didn't understand, but when Percy stuck out his bottom lip and looked at him with innocent, pleading eyes, Nico gave him a quick peck, anyways.

Percy immediately grinned broadly, giving him another soft kiss, before finally letting go of Nico – who immediately huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest, muttering something along the lines of 'I should have known' under his breath.

"Tadaa." He exclaimed, picking up Nico's sword and throwing it to his boyfriend, before picking up Riptide.

The class chuckled.

"Trickery!" The Hermes kids exclaimed excitedly, while the Aphrodite girl didn't seem impressed at all, instead huffing to herself.

"I thought you're teaching them how to fight, not how to seduce their significant others'." A voice called over, and Percy looked around, spotting Will walking towards them.

Percy beamed at him.

"Hey there, sun-bug. Well, I guess it could come in handy if they know how to seduce their opponents…? 'Make love, not war', and all?" He tried tentatively, already turning his sword back into a pen and pocketing it, making straight for his boyfriend.

Will allowed him to wrap his arms around him, and Percy gave him a soft peck on the lips, before continuing to beam down at him.

He looked so nice in his scrubs.

Why was he even wearing them still?

What time was it, even?

Was his shift over already?

Had he only come to visit real quick?

Had he brought food?

"All that curiosity inside you, I swear. I'm only on a quick break, you dork. Kayla told me to catch some fresh air, so I went and fetched you guys lunch." Will explained, flicking Percy's forehead as he held up their wrapped up food with the other hand, though he made no move to get out of Percy's hold.

"Percy, you're drooling. You also still have a class to teach." Nico chided as he came up next to them, though he didn't seem upset in the slightest, instead taking the lunch from Will, both of them grinning at each other.

"I'm sure they can wait for five minutes while I flirt with my boyfriend?" He tried tentatively, and both of his boyfriends snorted.

"Haven't you been flirting with Nico this past hour already?" Will asked vaguely, though he wrapped his arms around Percy's neck, anyways.

"Oh, he has." Nico remarked, and Percy huffed indignantly.

"I did no such thing."

"Somehow, I highly doubt that." A new voice commented wryly, and Percy looked up to see Jason joining them.

Seriously, Percy could get used to them always showing up during his training lessons.

"Hey there. How did the planning go?" Nico asked, and Percy noticed mumbling behind them, where the kids were.

They were out to Camp, of course.

(Totally Will's fault, by the way.)

(Okay, maybe Percy had helped, but _still_.)

Yet every time the four of them were together, people still put their heads together.

It was maddening.

Couldn't they mind their own business?

Then again, Percy couldn't give two damns what anybody thought.

These were _his_ boyfriends, and nobody else was going to take that from him, nor make him feel as if it was something bad.

If people didn't care whether he was heartbroken because he couldn't be with his boyfriends, then people sure as hell weren't allowed to care when he was happy because they loved him back.

After all, if they didn't care for his happiness, why should he care about theirs?

At least Percy thought that to himself, while making it blatantly obvious he had zero intention to let go of Will anytime soon.

"Everything is going well, I guess. Now that the monsters have returned, the group will change, of course, and there won't be any detours anymore. We were kind of hoping there'd be a sign from one of the less celebrated gods, so we know where to go next, but so far, there hasn't been anything. Therefore, Annabeth and I called Reyna. There's some news, but not much. I'll tell you that later." Jason explained, wrapping himself around Will from behind when Percy stared him down instead of loosening his hold on the blond.

His.

All of them were _his_.

"Watch out, Jason, or he'll hog you next. He's having a little possessive streak going on right now." Will remarked amusedly, and Percy huffed in agreement.

Jason didn't seem perturbed in the slightest.

"Yeah? I don't really mind. Let him _try_ to hog me."

Was that a challenge?

Percy eyed Jason warily, and Jason looked right back at him with an expression that said 'You wouldn't do it, anyways'.

Ha. It _was_ a challenge.

"Uh-oh." Both Will and Nico muttered at the same time, and Jason seemed to take that as his cue to step backwards, grinning at Percy.

"Of course, you'll have to catch me first."

What, did he think Percy couldn't do it?

He let go of Will the moment Jason turned around and ran, and both Will and Nico sighed loudly as Percy rushed past them and after the blonde.

"You're just running because you're a coward! And I can still catch you!"

"You can't even outrun a tree, Percy!" Jason called back, and Percy took offense to that statement.

"They were _dryads_ and had _hundreds_ of years of training!" He yelled after the blonde, wishing he had something to throw at him.

Like a brick or something.

Jason merely laughed.

Which…would have probably annoyed Percy and only infuriated him more, but in this case, it was a hearty, elated laugh, and Percy knew how rarely Jason laughed right after having 'serious' conversations about their future and all, so he let it slide.

For now.

Instead, he chased that dork through the arena, while Will and Nico patted each other's shoulders in consolations, and the kids looked between amused and confused.

"You know you're supposed to teach the kids something, right?" Will asked when he passed them for the third time, though he knew he was _a lot_ closer to Jason already.

" _I am!_ I'm teaching them how to catch _a wild Jason_." Percy insisted, and Nico buried his face at Will's shoulder, while Will just laughed.

"Yeah, and you're doing such a good job at it, aren't you?" Jason teased, and if Percy hadn't been running, he'd have gaped at the insolence.

But he _was_ running, so instead of doing anything too stupid, he picked up speed and threw himself at Jason, sending them both crashing into the floor rather harshly.

Yeah, okay, that hadn't been his smartest idea, either.

"Oh gods, _guys_!" Nico called over in disbelief, though Percy noticed none of them came checking on them when they smacked into the ground and rolled over each other a couple of times rather harshly until they came to a stop, with Percy sprawled over Jason.

 _Ha_! He had him!

"Percy, you're an idiot." Jason stated between pants, and Percy huffed triumphantly.

"But I got you. See, kids? That's how you do it. Not that I want you to go catching my boyfriend, only I can do that." He called over to the kids, sitting on Jason's back for a moment longer and holding his shoulders to show he really had him.

Jason laughed quietly, but let him have his fun, anyways.

"That's because you're the only one he'd even run away from." Will remarked drily, and Percy huffed indignantly.

Lies.

…Right?

Doubt gnawed on him all of a sudden, and he hesitated, glancing down at Jason again.

Jason seemed fairly unperturbed beneath him, though he did look up at him with a questioning look when he felt his gaze.

True, he never ran away from Will or Nico.

Then again, they probably wouldn't try to chase him, either…

"You okay? Please don't tell me you're going to do something weird like tie me up next or something."

Percy huffed.

"I'd hope for you to stay with me even without bonds, Jason."

Oh wait, he had meant right now, hadn't he?

Oops.

Jason eyed him oddly for a moment, and Percy made a face, deciding to get off him.

"Oh well, come on, let's teach the kids how to behead monsters with one hand tied behind their backs." He suggested, holding out his hand to Jason, and Jason took it, still eyeing him oddly.

"Percy?" He asked just as Percy turned away, and Percy halted, glancing back at him in question.

Jason studied his expression a moment longer, then smiled.

"Yeah, okay."

Oh.

Percy smiled fleetingly, then tugged him off towards the others, feeling…eh, he wasn't sure.

A bit disappointed, maybe.

"Aww, no kiss?" Will asked with a raised eyebrow, but Percy found that only rubbed salt into the wound that just suddenly seemed to be there, in his heart.

"Nah." He replied, already pulling out his sword and making for the kids to teach again.

Percy saw Will hesitating for a moment out of the corners of his eyes, a frown on his face, but then he shook his head and waved at them.

"Well, I got to get back to the infirmary. Percy, eat your lunch. Jason, you're staying here?"

Percy considered following Will to keep him from leaving and to seek solace in his arms from the stinging that now didn't want to stop anymore.

But since Will tended to sense any form of pain from miles away, he only waved and started telling the kids to pair up and get their training weapons out again, so they could get this over with.

"Yeah, for a while, at least. Unless you need help in the infirmary?" Jason asked, but Will shook him off and left, and Nico appeared at Percy's side, poking him in the side.

"What's up with you? You seem pouty."

Percy pouted.

Then he made a face.

Then he decided to use it to his advantage and pouted again, throwing his arms around his boyfriend.

"Yes! I'm deprived of love, Nico. _Deprived._ Of _love_. Need. More. Loving." He exclaimed, and if Nico was surprised, he didn't show it, instead patting his back in consolation.

"I bet. How about you eat your lunch? Will brought it just for you, with lots of love and all."

True, there was food.

Percy guessed he could live with that.

Nico passed him the wrapped up whatever-it-was, and sent him off to the side with another pat on the shoulder, before picking up where Percy had left off with the kids, pulling Jason closer to help him.

Hm.

Maybe it was just Percy's imagination, after all.

Maybe he was just overthinking things.

After all, the guys didn't kiss each other half as much as they had to kiss Percy, because Percy tended to get overly excited whenever he saw them.

But he couldn't help it, okay?

This was all still so very new, and he was just so happy they were actually together!

Did nobody understand him?

But he guessed it was okay, since Jason didn't-…

Percy watched how Jason grinned down at Nico, giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead when Nico seemed to explain something about the muscles in the neck and shoulders area.

…Okay, never mind.

He turned away, sulking all over again.

Whatever.

Things had always been different between Jason and him, anyways.

No reason to get upset about it.

…Percy still felt upset.

...

Nico smiled at his boyfriend as Percy kept lamenting about his food, even though Will had already told him countless times now he could just eat whatever he wanted.

Apparently, their diet plans were near unnecessary when they were constantly running around and working out in forms of training with each other and the rest of the Camp.

But Percy insisted on sticking with it for whatever reason, anyways – even though he complained all the while.

Somebody understand that guy.

Nico stroked over his thigh, and Percy instantly fell silent, his gaze first hushing down to his hand, before sideways at Nico.

He could feel his cheeks warming, but kept stroking, anyways.

"What would you like to do after dinner, Percy?" He asked, and Percy blinked, opening and closing his mouth without saying anything, before suddenly blushing profusely.

What…?

Will cackled quietly from where he sat across from Percy.

" _Somebody_ is imagining naughty things, it seems."

Percy huffed, though his blush didn't lighten, and instead of replying immediately, he resorted to stuffing his face with food again.

Dork.

They were all dorks.

Gods, after today in the morning though, Nico couldn't _really_ blame Percy if he thought of anything of the like.

That had been…

Well, first of all, it had been _embarassing as hell_ , especially because Nico very well knew he was the only one who had reacted quite that intensely to Will's and Jason's…doings.

But damn, Will's _noises_.

Not to mention his expressions.

He was going to be the death of him.

Nico just knew it.

Originally, he had wanted to be upset with Will, because the blonde _definitely_ hadn't managed anything about the whole 'permission'-issue yesterday, either – not to mention the fact that he and Percy had had another one of those early-morning-conversations when Nico and Jason had still been 'asleep'.

Seriously, why did the guys always have such _important_ conversations whenever Nico was sleeping?

When had Percy even found out about that issue, in the first place?

He had never said anything to Nico about it, either.

That Will wouldn't want to talk about it right away when _Jason_ was awake, because those two had gotten closer before and that issue had apparently popped up then, he could understand, partly.

But why hadn't Will told Nico?

Why hadn't they let him be part of that conversation?

He could have helped, too!

He wasn't sure how, but he'd have tried!

And then, there was this whole thing with Percy and his step-dad…

Nico pushed the thought aside, though he knew he was definitely still upset about that.

Percy could have _definitely_ told him about that.

 _Should_ have told him about that.

Seriously!

Nico had _known_ his step-dad had been horrible, but not to _this_ extent!

That guy was lucky he was petrified; else Nico would have sent his rotten soul to the Fields of Punishment in a heartbeat.

Then again, there was already one guy too many out there he still had to get rid of, so there was that.

But still…that blowjob…and the way Will had responded, had moaned, had cried out, had clung to Percy, had touched Nico…

Nico had definitely liked that, and it had most definitely made a cut through his plans of being mad at them in any way.

He was still upset, in a way, but not quite as much as he might have liked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, sun-bug. I was merely thinking we should repeat the cuddling thing from last night." Percy said at long last, and Nico wanted to bury his face in his hands.

Gods, the naked cuddling.

There was only one way to describe that: _Awkward_.

Of course, Percy had seemed absolutely cool with it, and while Will had seemed initially flustered, he had seemed just fine when he had plastered himself against Percy's back, and the four of them had chatted about everything and nothing for the next some hours until they had fallen asleep at long last.

Jason hadn't seemed to mind one bit, either (then again, that guy most definitely didn't have a reason to be shy, just saying).

So, obviously, it had only been Nico who had been flustered and disturbed by the thought of all four of them being _naked_.

In bed.

Together.

Their _naked_ bodies touching in the weirdest places.

Without things even being sexual.

In any sort of way.

Why was it that this had been completely okay with them?

Did other couples do this?

Did _anybody_ do this?

Nico wasn't sure whether he and Percy had ever gotten naked in front of each other for reasons other than to have things get sexual.

Sure, there had been that one shower in the beginning of their relationship, but, well, that had been _a shower_.

And the changing in the changing cubicle wasn't exactly any valid example, either, especially since they had most definitely low-key made out there, anyways.

"I'm not surprised. But yeah, sure. If you don't mind, I don't mind, either." Will shrugged.

Of course he was okay with it.

Nico wished he could be brave enough to say something like that, too.

He also wished he could just shrug like that, too, as if this was just something small.

But it really wasn't.

Maybe it was because Nico came from a different time, or maybe it was simply because he was himself, but this was most definitely a _big_ deal to him.

He glanced towards Jason for a moment, then hurriedly glanced away again, deciding not to dwell on _that_ right now.

If they _did_ get naked tonight, he _did_ hope he either wouldn't have to undress Jason, though – or that he'd _at the very least_ be sensible enough this time to _just_ grab his boxer shorts, instead of actually _grabbing Jason's dick_.

 _The shame!_

Nico was still scandalized about his own doings right there.

He had been too flustered! Too distracted by being too flustered!

He hadn't _known_ what he was doing, one hand tugging one side of Jason's boxer shorts down, the other…missing the boxer shorts and…instead…wrapping around Jason's…

Nico very subtly buried his face in his hands, and Jason nudged his foot with his own, as if in question.

He wanted to wave off, wanted to groan, wanted to hide under a blanket or something, but instead, he merely gave a small nod.

"I wouldn't mind, either." He urged himself to say, though he very much minded.

He had no idea what to do when they were naked.

He didn't even know what to do when they were _dressed_!

How did one cuddle with their boyfriends when they were _naked_?!

Then again…it _had_ kind of come in handy this morning…

"So we're going to go straight back to the cabin after this?" Jason asked, sounding the tiniest bit disappointed, and the three of them immediately looked up and around at him.

Nico took in his expression, his own thoughts all but forgotten.

What? What was it?

Had Jason wanted to do something different?

If so, what?

It was kind of getting late already, after all.

If Jason wanted to go to their clearing, or train a bit, or whatever else, they should probably get to that soon, before it was curfew (not to mention too dark).

Then again, nobody cared much about the curfew anymore, since the cleaning harpies were pretty much dead, and so far hadn't shown up again.

(Jason's fault, though Nico certainly couldn't blame him, even if he wanted to.)

"What would you like to do?" Will asked immediately, the same moment Percy asked "What is it, man?".

Jason blinked, looking at them a bit taken aback, as if he hadn't expected them to react quite this strongly to his words.

Then his lips twitched and he shook his head, looking at them with a warm, affectionate expression.

"Nothing important, guys. I was just thinking, now that it's getting warmer, and the days are getting longer, it would be nice to sit down at the Camp Fire together. We haven't done that in quite a while, after all." Jason explained, and all three of them let out the breaths they had been holding, the tension leaving their shoulders.

The next moment, they exchanged pointed looks at their reactions and chuckled.

The Camp Fire.

Of course Jason would like to go there.

Before December, Will had always tried to move Nico to accompany him to the Camp Fire, and if _he_ hadn't tried, _Jason_ had.

But then December had happened, Christmas had happened, Percy and Nico had happened, their vacation had happened, _Kyle_ had happened…so, yeah, they sort of hadn't been there in a while.

Every here and there, yes, but since Kyle, they had kept entirely to themselves, and Will had only sought out Lou Ellen and Cecil last week for the first time since the drama in the dining pavilion – and only because they all knew how badly those two had needed to talk it all out with Will.

It was…difficult.

There were a lot of kids at Camp, all of varying ages, all with different backgrounds, different upbringing, and different opinions.

With all the talking while Kyle had been there, the guys had taken to keep Will away from them a bit, to give him a chance to get himself together first, and even though he was now working in the infirmary again, they really hadn't 'socialized' with anybody outside their small circle of friends where they could avoid it.

Except the Apollo cabin, maybe, but those basically counted to 'friends', really.

Nobody could dislike those kids, after all.

Nico knew _he_ liked them, at least.

Still…the Camp Fire?

Initially, Nico would say yes, just to then immediately counter with a 'No'.

Who knew how much time they had before things would get worse and there would be more attacks, more monsters, more deaths?

If he had the choice, he'd _much rather_ spent his time with his boyfriends in their cabin, in private, being close, being together, being _away_ from all that trouble.

Then again, being out, having fun among others, that might not be all too bad, either.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind." Will said with a shrug, and if Will was for it, Nico knew Percy would be, too.

As expected, Percy instantly nodded and agreed, so Nico gave his affirmation as well, and they watched amused as Percy finished his entire plate of food in record time so they could leave.

Well, so much about his earlier complaining.

Nico looked around the dining pavilion at their fellow campers, and promptly caught quite a few still ogling them oddly.

Seriously, would that ever stop?

Nico knew that some people had ogled them, back when he and Percy had gotten together and come out to Camp, and back then, it had unnerved Nico a bit, had worried him, had made him fear people would talk, would bully, would say or do something that would make Percy reconsider, that would make him lose Percy.

Now, it wasn't like that anymore.

Now, their glances annoyed him, irritated him, made him _angry_.

They had no business looking at them, watching them, talking about them.

What did they know?

They knew _nothing_.

Nico sighed, urging himself to calm down before he started glowering or picking fights.

It didn't matter.

They weren't worth the breath, much less the trouble.

Nico had enough other worries, and so did the healers in the infirmary.

Once Percy was finished, he and Will immediately ushered Nico and Jason out of the dining pavilion, which struck Nico as a bit odd, since _Jason_ had been the one who had wanted to go in the first place.

But Jason seemed to be perfectly fine with being dragged off as if against his will, if the soft smile on his face stood for anything.

Nico wanted to glance back at the kids for a moment, but Will clicked his tongue just then, effectively capturing Nico's attention for long enough to get them too far away for him to glower at anybody.

Mean.

He wondered faintly whether Will had _intentionally_ done that.

Will's triumphant grin said yes.

Dork.

Nico sighed and looked around at the other campers buzzing about the Camp, and waved at Bill when he spotted him with his other friends.

For a moment, it occurred to him that he hadn't talked to Bill whatsoever since the four of them had gotten together, and he wondered what Bill would say to that.

Not that it really mattered to him what anybody thought, but…Bill _had_ been the first kid to really give him the impression others (aside from his circle of friends) could see him as something _other_ than a monster or freak.

But then Bill already waved back with a giant grin on his face, so Nico's worries were soothed before they could even manifest properly in the first place.

Will sent him a knowing look over his shoulder, but didn't comment, instead tugging on his hand a bit more until they were walking side by side.

"It's been so long since we've been at the Camp Fire. Wonder if my siblings improved their shitty performances at all." The blonde commented wryly, just as they were passing Kayla and Austin, and Nico huffed as both of them turned to glower at Will with murder in their eyes.

"Don't push your luck or you'll be joining in, baby bro." Kayla called after him as Will picked up his pace with a cheeky snicker, though it was quickly replaced by a small gasp.

"What? Never! I only sing for my _boyfriends_ , sorry." He quipped back, and Nico's lips twitched.

Boyfriends.

Nico wasn't sure whether that word should make him this happy, but it _did_.

Probably because he was included in that.

Seriously, not that they had to tell anybody, because everybody already knew, but Percy and Will seemed to enjoy it immensely to throw that word around _all the time_.

 _Especially_ when there were other people around.

It was almost as if they were bragging.

Maybe they were.

Nico knew he certainly would.

Sadly, he was too much of a coward to really follow up on it.

He glanced over his shoulder, and found Percy looking rather euphoric and utterly adorable, a light blush on his cheeks and ears as he seemed to try reining in his grin, his shoulders trembling slightly as his eyes kept hushing between Jason's hand holding his, to Will and Nico.

Aww.

Nico wasn't sure why, but seeing Percy being so flustered and adorable and _affected_ by all these small gestures always managed to calm Nico.

Maybe because it showed this was just as special to them as it was to him.

Gods, he loved these guys.

Will looked around at him with a soft expression on his face, as if he was able to hear the words Nico wasn't saying.

Then, the blonde stopped abruptly, and it took Nico a moment to realize it was because they had arrived at a nice, empty spot – the same one Will had always attempted to drag Nico off to before December.

Nico blinked, then glanced around at the other kids around them, most of which were tending to the fire.

(Since most of the kids here were Hermes kids, that wasn't necessarily a good sign, but from what he could tell, there was nothing that indicated any sort of trick or explosion, so Nico let Will tug him onto his lap as they got seated.)

Being at the Camp Fire again after all this time was…weird.

Unusual.

 _Loud_.

It reminded Nico of the time right after the war against Gaea, when Will had ordered him to socialize more and attend the Camp Fires with either him or another friend (which had been the first time Will had called himself Nico's 'friend').

It had been unusual and disturbingly loud back then, too.

Nico hadn't been sure whether he'd ever get used to it, much less _like_ it.

Now, he was feeling the same way all over again.

Will's lips found the side of his neck, and Nico automatically stilled, closing his eyes to relish in the sensations that simple touch brought forth.

"So much turmoil inside you, sweetheart. What's wrong? Too many people?" The blonde asked softly, and Nico hesitated for a moment, glancing towards Percy and Jason, who were sitting next to them and had some sort of muttered conversation about S'mores.

Nico looked around at all the other kids again, then shook his head quietly.

No, it wasn't the amount of people.

It was just… _people_.

Nico still didn't know how much time they had left.

Jason could have to leave on another trip any moment now, and they'd go with him, and then there'd be monsters and real fights again, the chance of premature death looming over all of them once more.

Nico wanted to make the most of the time they had to just…live.

Before they had to _survive_ again.

And these kids…Nico _liked_ Camp, he liked the people (maybe half of them, at least), but they were so loud, so nosy, so _everywhere_ , and Nico…Nico really much rather have the guys to himself for as long as possible.

But he wasn't going to say that out loud.

Will was a very social person, after all, and Jason seemed to think it was a great idea to be around others again, else he wouldn't have brought it up.

Percy…Percy was different.

He was something in between those two and Nico.

Nico had watched him for a long time, after all (which made him sound like a stalker…okay, maybe he had been, a tiny little bit…).

He knew, while it was remarkably easy for Percy to make friends, Percy was actually the sort of person that kept to himself, that had a few friends he held very close, and the rest was people he could talk to, could fight with, could get along with, but not people he really focused on or went out of his way to interact with.

He was more like Nico in that regard, rather spending time with his loved ones than with larger groups of people.

Will kissed the side of his neck again, and Nico lost track of what he had even been thinking about.

"Just relax, Neeks. You're focusing on the wrong things. Come on, look around you. Not at all the people, but at the ones that matter to you." Will whispered against his skin, and Nico shivered slightly, but did as he was told, letting his eyes roam the growing crowd of demigods once more, this time singling out the ones he knew.

There was Lou Ellen, chatting with one of the Demeter kids and doing something with her hands that made small lights appear, like little fireflies, though they were purple.

On the opposite side of where Nico and his guys were sitting, there were Annabeth and Piper, huddled together with Annabeth between Piper's legs and leaning back against her, both of them in some sort of heated discussion, if Annabeth's wildly gesturing hands indicated anything.

Then there were Will's siblings, preparing for their favorite activity of the day/night.

Nico still felt disturbed by all the noise around him, but watching his _friends_ smiling and laughing and having fun…alright, that felt somewhat good.

He guessed he could live with this, then.

Nico made a noncommittal sound, and Will chuckled against his skin, before placing another gentle kiss to it.

"Hey, behave yourself, Will. We're out in public here." Percy chided, and when Nico turned his head, he found Will sticking his tongue out at Percy, seeming utterly unimpressed.

"It's not my fault Nico is so seductive. Plus, you're just jealous because nobody is making out with you." He deadpanned, and Nico tried to cover up the heating of his face by rolling his eyes and turning his head away.

Percy huffed and poked Will in the side, which cause him to jump, and thus made Nico jump, as well.

 _Mean_.

"Dam right. Why am _I_ not being taken onto anybody's lap and cherished like that, huh?" He lamented, and Nico blinked, slightly taken aback.

Seriously, _Percy_.

Will huffed.

"Well, mostly because I always wanted to get all touchy-feely with Nico at the Camp Fire, really. Right under everybody's noses, to show he's _mine_. So, you'll have to excuse me, but tonight I shall make that wish come true." He shot back, and Nico glanced back at him in surprise.

What?

"Mean." Percy huffed, though he was smiling, and didn't seem upset one bit.

"You can always ask Jason?" Nico put in hesitantly, though it sounded more like a question than a statement, and Percy looked at him with wide eyes.

Jason didn't seem surprised whatsoever, instead leaning forward to look at Nico past Percy, and if anything, he looked…well, he didn't look _opposed_.

It wasn't as if he seemed to be begging to get Percy on his lap and get affectionate with him, but he definitely didn't seem to mind the idea, whereas Percy looked as if Nico had just told him to take Alecto out on a date.

" _What_?" Percy asked, and Nico inwardly winced, wondering what he had said wrong.

Those two were so weird, he didn't understand.

Will chuckled.

"Nico, that's a great idea, but also a horrible one. It would be _exactly_ what Percy needed, but sadly, I don't think the rest of the Camp would thank us for what would happen. Seriously, Jason is nice with _us_ , Nico, but give him a willing Percy onto his lap, all ready for ravishing, and five minutes later their clothes will be _anywhere_ but on them, and we'll be banned from the Camp Fires for eternity." The blonde explained wisely, and Nico's face started burning again, though he hoped that it was already becoming dark enough around them for anybody to see it.

 _Seriously_!

Percy snorted in disbelief, though Nico noticed he didn't look all that opposed anymore all of a sudden.

Nico also noticed that Jason didn't say anything to argue the statement in any way.

Would they really?

Those two were the least affectionate with each other, after all.

Nico actually couldn't help but feel as if they weren't quite sure what to do with the other, though the interest seemed to be there on both sides.

As for feelings…well, Will had sort of been right in saying Percy had always seemed to have been pining after Jason, in a way.

Jason's feelings, though…Nico had no idea.

He had been the one to initiate the first kiss, had been the one to even bring up the whole 'Will we be dating, too?'-thing, but ever since then, Nico had never noticed him initiating anything else, and always waiting until Percy showed he wanted him to do something.

Which was exactly something Jason would do, though Nico wasn't sure how much Percy liked that.

He wanted attention, but he didn't like asking for it, after all.

Nico eyed them a moment longer, then shrugged off the thoughts.

They'd work it out by themselves for sure.

It wouldn't be right of Nico to meddle in any sort of way – unless Will decided they should.

Will knew such things much better than Nico, after all.

"Percy?" Jason asked, and both Will and Nico instantly looked around again, even though Nico's eyes hadn't even yet settled on the Apollo kids that were about to start their first song of the evening.

"No. If anything, you should get on _my_ lap, Sparky." Percy instantly shot back, and Will snorted.

Nico merely sighed and looked back at the Apollo kids.

They had once tried to get him to sing, too.

He had adamantly refused, not even giving in to Will's pleading look.

The only time Will had ever been able to convince him to sing along with him had been their not-date in December, and he still partly regretted that.

(Not the not-date, of course, but most definitely his rather lousy performance.)

Now, he wondered whether Will would join in again one day.

For a moment, that made him think of Will's guitar.

He still didn't know what had happened that had really made Will stop playing, that had made him so _scared_ of playing.

But Nico was pretty sure that had to do with Kyle, too.

Somehow, everything bad had to do with Kyle.

Nico _hated_ that guy.

Seriously, to hell with his resolve to not holding grudges, to fight his fatal flaw.

He was going to hate that guy and hold all the grudges in the world against him.

That guy had hurt Will.

 _His_ Will.

The Apollo kids started their first song, accompanied by a few children of Aphrodite, and Nico forced himself to focus on that, rather than on the dangerous path his thoughts were taking.

Will's grip on him tightened momentarily, then his lips found the side of Nico's neck again.

And again.

And again.

Then Will blew a freaking raspberry, and Nico gasped and giggled.

Damn.

 _Not again._

Why did they always have to do that? _Especially_ with him?

Nico never saw Will blowing raspberries on _Jason's_ neck, for example!

It was just so unfair!

A few heads turned, most likely because Nico's giggling was still fairly audible even with the other campers now joining in on the singing.

Or maybe because it was _Nico_ who was giggling.

Oh, the shame.

There went his reputation as the emotionless and scary Ghost King.

Will's hands sneaked under his shirt and over his sides, trying to tickle, and Nico nearly leaped off his lap.

 _No way!_

"S-Stop it!" He gasped between giggles as he thrashed around somewhat, not wanting to hurt Will, but _definitely_ wanting to escape.

Will merely cackled, though his hands stopped tickling almost immediately, his arms instead wrapping tightly around Nico – still beneath his shirt.

Oh, he had _so_ done that on purpose!

Nico turned his head to glower at his blonde, and Will grinned at him with the faintest hint of smugness in his features, the palms of his hands now sliding ever so slowly (and _nicely_ ) over Nico's skin.

"You're horrible." Nico commented without heat, while the Apollo cabin started on their second or third song.

Will's grin widened.

"Aw, but you love me, anyways."

"I do." Nico admitted, and felt the warmth spreading through him as he did, that peace of knowing he could say those words without fear, that he could let Will know how he felt for him.

It was still new.

But Nico never wanted this to change.

He wanted to have this be special to him forever, same as it had always been special to hear those three words from Percy before.

Will's expression seemed to become impossibly soft, and his face came closer slowly, until he could press his lips to Nico's nose, making the corners of his lips quirk up again.

That dork.

"I love you, too, Nico." Will whispered, then gave him a soft peck on the lips.

Mmh, yes, Nico could _so_ get used to that.

He hummed contently, which promptly made Will grin again and tug him closer, while Nico could feel Percy inching closer from next to them.

As if on cue, both Nico _and_ Will turned their heads to try give him a quick kiss at the same time, Will to his temple, and Nico to his lips as he just turned his head towards them.

Percy all but froze, blinking in surprise, before he started getting all giddy again and beamed at them as if they were the light of his world.

They beamed back.

Jason watched them with a gentle, content expression on his face, then moved an arm around Percy, which Nico was glad to see seemed to make Percy shine even more.

Will might be the one who could start glowing for real, but Percy was the one whose smiles seemed to radiate the same sort of warmth and joy.

Nico would have never been able to make him _that_ happy by himself, not like this, not in this way, not as many times as _they_ did, as a group.

Maybe they really _had_ been missing something, back when Percy and he had been a couple.

Maybe it was just one of those things one didn't know one was missing until one had it, contrary to the saying of only realizing the worth of something when it was gone.

After all, one couldn't miss something if one didn't know it existed.

If so, then Nico was pretty sure it was that feeling of peace.

That reassurance things were going to be okay, that all cards were on the table, that their feelings for each other were real and genuine and known to the others.

When he had just been with Percy, he had always worried about these feelings, had always felt they were horrible and wrong, because he was supposed to be happy with Percy, and Percy _alone_.

Now, he wasn't scared of that anymore.

He still didn't know a lot of things, and he still feared plenty, but that one worry, that one dread that had been residing inside him…that was gone.

And Nico definitely didn't want it back.

He much, _much_ rather had this.

It was perfect.

In all its imperfection, and with all the work they'd still have to go through to make this work out, it was absolutely perfect.

Nico wouldn't want it any other way.

At least not right now.

He hummed again, leaning back into Will's embrace, and Will breathed a small chuckle against his skin, before kissing the side of his neck again, while Percy's hand found his thigh.

No, he wouldn't want it any other way.

"I love you, guys."

Maybe attending the Camp Fires wasn't so bad, after all.


	3. Chapter 3: Who Cares What Others Think?

**A/N:** Hey there, Cupcakes :D

here comes the next chapter ;3

 **Trigger warning** for this chapter because of **homophobic, ignorant, stupid, hurtful and hateful comments** (also directed against polyamory, and downplaying/disbelieving of rape; showing that stupid people are stupid.)

Poor beans...

Hope you enjoy it, and wish you guys all the best ;3  
Until next Sunday,  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 03: Who Cares what Others Think?**

When Jason woke up in the morning, the first thing he noticed was that Percy was studying him with an odd look on his face, and it wasn't necessarily a _positive_ look.

Uh-oh.

What had he done this time?

Jason blinked and tried to remember all the things that had happened yesterday as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

What?

Wait, he hadn't done anything.

Unless Percy was upset about the handjob?

Nah, unlikely, then he'd have let it show before now, after all.

Had Jason done something wrong at the Camp Fire, maybe?

But he hadn't even done anything!

Well, he had put his arm around Percy a couple of times…

No, that couldn't be it, right?

Percy had seemed perfectly fine with that!

Then that only left last night.

When they had returned to the cabin, it had been much later than originally intended, and they had universally decided to skip the showers in favor of going straight to sleep.

Oh.

Maybe Percy was upset about the lack of naked cuddles.

But that hadn't been Jason's fault!

He hadn't cared whether they'd sleep naked or not, but Will and Nico had been fast asleep the moment their heads had hit the pillow, so Jason had sort of assumed they'd just keep that for today.

Had Percy expected him to still follow up on that?

Why would he?

Percy had taken a liking to the whole 'naked'-thing, yes, but Jason was pretty sure that was mostly just because he wanted Will and Nico naked and close to him.

But then what was Percy upset about?

Jason had even let him spoon him to avoid any late-night-bickering, so it couldn't even be that.

"Good morning." He greeted at long last as he propped himself up on his elbow to look at Percy better, who must have moved to behind Nico at some point.

Since Jason clearly remembered feeling Percy snuggled into his arms when Will had had his nightmare, it must have been pretty recent.

Wait, Percy had been in his arms?

Damn, then maybe Percy really was upset about that.

But wait, what could Jason do against that?

He couldn't control how he moved in his sleep, same as he couldn't control how Percy or Will and Nico moved.

Why was it such a big deal to Percy who spooned whom, anyways?

He was almost as insistent on that as Will was with his top/bottom issue he was still having (and which Jason had no idea what to do about, might he mention…).

Seriously, Percy and his competitive nature.

He wasn't competitive whatsoever (or at least not half as much…) when it came to Nico and Will.

How unfair was that?

"Morning." Percy replied and stretched, and from his tone, Jason immediately gathered something _was_ wrong.

Mostly because it sounded like the tone of voice Percy always used to cover up when something was wrong.

Unnerving.

It was unnerving.

Will and Nico stirred, and Will hummed contently against Jason's chest, before both of them slowly opened their eyes, blinking and smiling and absolutely adorable.

Jason glanced back towards Percy, but he was busy gazing at Will and Nico, too, his expression much, _much_ softer and gentler than when he had looked at Jason.

What had he done?

It didn't make any sense?

Jason would like to just brush it off and focus on how to _solve_ whatever issue Percy was having, but in this case he had a hunch he'd have to know what this was about before attempting to fix anything.

Wow, what a way to start into the day.

Yesterday, he had woken up to Will admitting he hadn't dared to tell Jason about the whole permission-issue.

Today, he woke up to Percy being pissed off at him for mysterious reasons.

Jason wondered what that meant for _tomorrow_.

"Mmh, good morning, Handsome. Your mind is disturbingly busy for 7am, don't you think?" Will slurred his words slightly, his hands trailing over Jason's skin.

He smiled down at the blonde in his arms, glad he could be this relaxed after that nightmare a few hours ago.

That had certainly been one of the worst ones yet.

Jason faintly wondered whether it was his imagination, or whether they _were_ getting worse.

Will barely even woke up from them anymore, at least not in the way that he actually looked at them and _saw_ them.

He still jolted 'awake', but lately, it more seemed as if he was still stuck somewhere else, staring off into space unseeing and letting them clean him up a bit before tucking him back into bed.

It seemed he still felt their touches, and he tended to relax quicker these days, but therefore he remained a lot warmer than usual for a long while longer, and sometimes, he even muttered incoherent words under his breath, his expression either blank or pained.

Jason didn't like seeing him like that.

Mostly because there was nothing he could do to help him.

If these nightmares weren't already influenced by the gods, he'd have tried to have his next destination be Morpheus and/or Hypnos, just to try and talk to them whether they could help Will somehow.

But since the nightmares came from the gods, or had to do with the gods, or whatever else that was going on, Jason knew the gods wouldn't help, nor explain anything.

In a way, he could understand why so many demigods became bitter with time and started resenting the gods.

He knew he sometimes caught himself feeling the same way, though he tried to battle such moments with reason and logic.

"As I said, too much thinking. Nico-Neek-Neeks, I-…" Will started with a yawn, but then Nico already huffed and moved to sit up.

"I told you to stop calling me that, you _nerd_."

Well.

Jason raised an eyebrow, and caught Percy doing the same.

Usually, they'd have shared a look right then and there.

Now, Percy didn't meet his eyes, though his jaw seemed to clench slightly.

Damn it, Percy, what was it?

It was too early in the morning for Jason to read any minds!

(Plus, he couldn't even read any minds. Would have come in handy _so_ many times, though…)

"Rude, calling me 'nerd' as if it was an insult. Plus, since when are you calling me that, anyways?" Will huffed indignantly, and Nico grumbled as he squinted at the lot of them, apparently still rather sleepy.

Then, that bundle of sunshine grabbed the pillow and tugged it out from beneath them, just to smack Will with it.

"You stole my textbooks. There I was, trying to freaking _study_ , and you stole my textbooks because you wanted to build some sort of giant wall out of books with Percy. I _needed_ those!" Nico lamented agitatedly, even gesticulating with his hands as Will squeaked and laughed and stole his pillow to prevent him from hitting anybody else with it.

"What? Damn, what dreams are _you_ having?"

Nico's expression seemed to say 'Don't get me started', which Jason knew only made Will even more curious than anything else.

"Hm, weird. I dreamed we wanted to go ice skating. In summer. And then Will ran in throwing books at us, telling us we have to study or we won't make it through our finals." Percy put in thoughtfully, and Jason frowned, wishing he could remember his dreams for once.

He wasn't even sure whether he actually dreamed, to be honest.

Kind of sucked.

No, it _definitely_ sucked.

Then again, he was pretty sure he rather dreamed of nothing at all, than go through horrible nightmares like Will was.

"Oh wow, so in one dream I'm keeping you from studying, and in another I'm making you study? Then what was Jason doing?" Will asked, sounding as if he was trying to act offended.

Jason made a face, wondering whether he had even _been_ in any of their dreams.

"He tried to give me his, but I didn't want to, because he wrote all the solutions to the problems into it already, and I knew I wasn't going to bother doing it myself if I had his notes." Nico grumbled, then let himself fall back into bed sideways again with a groan that said 'Let me sleep for another five minutes'.

The sort of five minutes that took three hours.

"He urged us to compromise and study at the bottom of the lake." Percy grumbled, then shot Jason a sulky look.

Wait, wasn't that a good thing, though?

"Aww, isn't that kind of him? So, why exactly is Jason the peace-bringer in your dreams, and I'm the one messing up your plans of the day? Kind of rude." Will huffed, and Jason sighed, wrapping his arms around him from the side and urging them to flop back into the bed, too.

Nico was right, it was still way too early in the morning to get up.

Will chuckled, and Jason grinned against his skin – until he heard Percy huffing.

For some reason, the sound made him look up, just to spot Percy still sitting there, next to Nico, looking…disappointed? Borderline hurt?

What?

Before Jason could even open his mouth to ask what was wrong, though, Percy already moved and climbed off the bed.

"I'm gonna shower first, you lazy butts." He told them, and Nico and Will huffed indignantly.

"You love us, Gorgeous!"

"Remember that we're _your_ lazy butts!"

Weren't they just adorable?

Percy seemed to think the same, chuckling softly as he moved towards the bathroom, though the sound died no second later.

Something was _definitely_ wrong with Percy.

 _But what?!_

He had been _fine_ just yesterday!

…Or had he?

Now that he thought about it some more, Percy _had_ acted a bit strange when Jason had shown up at training.

Was that…was Percy upset because of their handjob, after all?

Jason had played with that thought when Percy had suddenly seemed dismissive and odd, but since Percy hadn't _said_ anything, and had seemed perfectly alright at dinner and at the Camp Fire, Jason had thought they were good.

Maybe it _was_ the handjob.

Or the fact that Jason had turned all affectionate afterwards.

Maybe Jason shouldn't have nuzzled his face against Percy's neck like that, much less nibbled on it so softly.

Percy and he were different, after all.

And so far, all of their touches had come from passion and heat and lust, not tender affection.

(Unless you counted the first probing kiss to test the waters, but that had so far been a one-time thing, sadly.)

Maybe he had freaked Percy out with that.

Maybe he had put him off with that.

Or maybe Jason was over-analyzing everything.

Will sighed and started shifting until Jason let him out of his hold, and bright blue eyes gazed up at him in what seemed to be a mixture of reprimand and sympathy.

"You're thinking too much. Nico, make him stop."

Gee, thanks.

Nico grumbled behind Will, looking as if he was about to drift off to sleep again, but then he sighed and sat up again, staring at Jason groggily.

"Jason, my boyfriend told me to make you stop thinking. So stop thinking."

Nico was absolutely adorable when he was like this.

Jason smiled at him, while Will chuckled, now turning onto his back to look at them both.

"Wow, so fierce, Nico-Neek-Neeks. That's the tone of voice that doesn't allow a-…"

" _Stop calling me that_!" Nico interrupted, closely followed by what just had to be the most adorable war cry Jason had ever heard.

Then Jason was forced to pull back hurriedly, because Nico practically _threw himself at Will_ , who must have seen it coming, already spreading out his arms to catch him and roll them over, and suddenly they were a bundle of limbs rolling around in the bed giggling and grunting and grumbling and laughing.

Why couldn't Percy be like that with Jason?

Mean.

Jason huffed to himself and vacated the bed to give them their space, and his eyes immediately hushed back to the bathroom door.

What could he do about this, though?

He had to talk to Percy, that much was certain.

But he already knew Percy would be all the more upset if Jason tried to confront him about his problem, when he didn't have _any_ idea whatsoever what could be wrong.

If it was something he had said or done, he had to figure that out first and apologize.

"Jason, where did you run off to? Get back here, you dork!" Will exclaimed, and Jason chuckled, hesitantly moving back closer to the bed, just to find both of them reaching out to grab him and pull him into bed with them once more.

"Did you settle your argument?" Jason asked amused, and Nico huffed.

"Absolutely. Will knows better now than to call me _that_ again, I'm certain."

"So fierce. Such a mighty Ghost King. Aren't you an adorable little bean…" Will cooed as he moved Jason between himself and Nico, and Jason sighed.

"Call me 'bean' _one more time_ , Solace…" Nico growled, and Will let out a drawn out 'Oooh, now he's Solace-ing me!'.

Such dorks.

"So, anyways, can somebody tell me what's wrong with Percy? It's obvious there's _something_ wrong, but I don't know what…?" He interrupted their playing, and they both instantly stopped, instead seeming…oddly hesitant.

 _Well_.

Apparently, those two knew what was going on.

Great, if even _Nico_ knew something was wrong, what did that say about Jason?

They sat up, so Jason did, too, and they both looked at him with an odd expression for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not to tell him.

Oh, come on, guys…

Will and Nico looked at each other, and he could see them mutely coming to a decision.

The next moment, they both patted him on the shoulder and shot him innocent looks that fooled nobody.

Apparently, their decision was 'No'.

 _Great_.

"Hm?" They both hummed, as if to ask him what he meant, when he knew they were absolutely aware of what was going on.

He made a face at them both.

"Aren't you supposed to be my loving and devoted boyfriends?" He remarked drily, and they shot each other telling looks he didn't like whatsoever.

"Aren't you supposed to be a loving and devoted boyfriend to Percy?" Nico then asked, and Jason blinked.

 _What_?

"I…I am…?" He muttered, though it sounded more like a question than an answer, and they both leaned against his sides with matching sighs.

Had he…said something wrong?

What?

"Jason…do you love Percy?" Will asked quietly, just as Jason focused on the sound of the shower.

"Yeah?" He replied, then blinked at how quickly that answer had come to him, how naturally and automatically it had come to him.

"I mean, _really_ love him. The way you love Nico and me. With the whole 'butterflies in your stomach' and that warm fuzzy feeling rushing through you, and…you know? That whole 'Oh gosh, this is the person I want to grow old with'-thing?" Will asked again, and Jason stilled, frowning to himself.

"Where's this coming from?" He asked skeptically, but Will shook his head.

"Just think about it. You two…for you, things are a bit different. You didn't start out as friends that suddenly became more. You were bros from the very start, and stuff between you was always different than it was for us. If I had gone and grabbed your butt two weeks into knowing you, you'd have been weirded out beyond measure, you know? Even now, I wouldn't grab your butt – though it's a very nice butt, I'd like to touch it again, actually…wait, now I'm trailing off. What I mean is…things are different for you two. You kissed, you made out, yesterday, you gave each other handjobs. But how do you really feel about Percy, Jason? I can tell you what I'm feeling of what you're feeling, but this is something you should best figure out yourself, you know?"

That…sounded pretty serious, especially for so early in the morning.

Sadly, Jason knew Will was right.

Jason sighed, putting his arms around them and tugging them closer against his sides slightly.

Nico let his head drop against Jason's shoulder, so Jason let his head fall against his, pondering Will's words.

What _did_ he feel for Percy?

He didn't feel butterflies, that was for sure.

Jason wasn't quite sure about the warm, fuzzy feeling, though.

He thought he felt _something_ whenever he saw Percy, but now he couldn't quite pinpoint it.

Was it just like before, when they had been bros?

Then again, the way they were right now, that was more like bros still, too, wasn't it?

Just with kissing and making out.

Then again, technically speaking, Will's or Nico's relationship was sort of the same thing, with them still being friends like before, just that now they also kissed, cuddled and had sex (non-penetrative sex, so far, but sex all the same).

Though…that _did_ feel a lot different from Percy and his relationship, for some reason.

Jason _knew_ their relationship was different, had realized that countless times in the past and all, but…was it maybe _too_ different?

Maybe they _had_ rushed into this whole thing a bit.

Maybe the two of them should have agreed to first come to terms with both dating Will and Nico together, and figured the rest out along the way?

Then again, they could still do that now, right?

Tons of people dated when they weren't yet necessarily 'in love' or anything, just because they were interested in their partners and wanted to see whether they _could_ fall in love.

Then again, those people usually took their time figuring things out at their own pace.

Which was kind of difficult to do in a relationship where everyone dated everyone, and things were about to turn sexual.

But…Jason wouldn't _mind_ if things turned sexual with Percy.

In fact, he kind of wanted them to.

He _wanted_ Percy to look at him the way he looked at Will and/or Nico, with that hunger in his eyes and the lust and want radiating off him, visible in each and every one of his touches and actions.

He _wanted_ to make Percy fall apart beneath him, wanted to be the reason for his moans, wanted to push him down and claim him as his, wanted to show him just how badly he could make him beg for _Jason_ to do him, wanted to-…

Jason jumped slightly, disturbed by the direction his thoughts were taking.

What?

What was…what had he just…

This wasn't Jason.

He didn't want to push _anybody_ down.

That was…was like _forcing_ himself onto them, right?

If Percy needed Jason to push him down in order for him to go along with Jason having sex with him, that was as if Jason was forcing him into it, right?

"Jason, you're overthinking it. Calm down." Will said quietly, stroking over his back.

"I…I don't…seriously, Will, why are you asking this? Am I forcing myself onto him?" He asked uncertainly, and Will frowned at him.

"What? No. Quite the contrary, really. And I'm asking because it's important that you figure it out before you two do something you might regret."

Did that mean Percy regretted their handjob, after all?

Or maybe even that they got together in the first place?

"Does Percy love me?" He asked cautiously, and promptly felt his heartbeat quickening in his chest at the thought, though that didn't make much sense, either.

Will smiled, turning his face away again and leaning against him once more.

"Who knows? Why don't you ask him?"

Mean.

Still, if Will didn't tell him, that was probably a 'no', anyways.

He sighed, letting his head fall against Nico's again, who seemed lost in thoughts.

Then, the Italian opened his mouth, and Jason just _knew_ his next words would either make him feel better, or worse, but at least they'd give him some sort of clue.

Sadly, Nico never uttered them, because the bathroom door opened and Percy stepped out, looking disheveled and rather attractive in his green boxer shorts, even if he wasn't going to wear them for much longer.

At least not _just_ them.

"Hey there, sweet-cheeks. Jason is going next." Will called over, and Percy smiled for a moment at the rather odd pet name, before acknowledging Jason with a nod as he got up.

Jason felt weird.

A bad weird.

He walked towards Percy – well, towards the bathroom, but he also directed his steps to go straight for Percy – and because Percy was Percy, he didn't step out of the way until they were right in front of each other.

Percy stopped, looking up at him with a mixture of surprise and skepticism, and Jason had no idea what to make of it.

He simply stared into those sea-green eyes of Percy, his friend, his best friend, his bro, his boyfriend, his lover.

What _did_ he feel for him?

"What are you doing?" Percy asked, though he still made no move to step out of the way, and Jason shrugged.

"Gazing at my beautiful boyfriend?"

For some reason, that statement made Percy blink, then frown, then blush slightly.

"Okay."

Jason smiled, wanting to reach out and touch Percy's heating ears.

He even had his hand up already.

Then he realized what he was doing, and that that wasn't anything Percy really did with him, so he probably shouldn't do it out of nowhere.

"I'll be in the bathroom." He excused himself, and pat Percy on the shoulder instead, and for a moment, Percy almost looked disappointed.

Then, however, he merely snorted and sneered, brushing Jason off and making a shooing motion at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Go get clean, Sparky."

Loving as always.

Will and Nico sighed from the bed, and Jason shot them a small look before moving towards the bathroom, feeling a bit as if he had just done something wrong.

What?

What was he _supposed_ to do?

Percy was the most expressive of them.

He showed when he wanted attention, he showed what he wanted, he showed how much he liked it.

Right now, he didn't seem to want affection from Jason, didn't seem to want _anything_ from Jason, and didn't seem to like anything he was doing.

So, that meant Jason should leave him alone, right?

Maybe the guys had asked him the same things as Jason?

Maybe Percy was going through the same things Jason was?

…Maybe he was regretting it.

Wow, what did that say about Jason?

If Percy already had enough of him after only one week of being together, that should probably make Jason stop and ponder for a moment what he was doing.

Then again, Percy hadn't _said_ anything about having had enough, and Percy usually wasn't very shy with his words when he was upset or didn't like something.

Maybe it was all just nothing and Jason was thinking too much into it all.

He certainly didn't want to lose Percy just like that.

Jason stepped into the shower, then halted in his thoughts.

Why was that?

Did he just not want to lose Percy because it might make things weird between them?

So would a relationship if things simply weren't right between them.

Did he not want to lose Percy because it might complicate their relationship with Will and Nico?

They'd probably make that work, anyways.

Did…did he not want to lose Percy…because he loved him?

 _Love_ -love?

If Jason just liked Percy as a friend, he wouldn't care whether they were dating or not, after all, right?

And, while Jason had just realized a few minutes ago he could be rather… _creepy_ , he still thought of himself as a person that would never just date somebody because he was curious about having sex with them.

Plus, by all the gods, Jason was _demi_.

He didn't do _anything_ with _anybody_ without having feelings for them!

Wait…

So, did that mean he _did_ love Percy?

Like, in a romantic way?

Jason groaned and started the water, before burying his face in his hands and trying to ponder it all over again.

He couldn't deny he did feel _something_ for Percy.

But he had sort of _always_ felt that.

That was their bro-thing, right?

He cringed and turned the heat up.

Damn, Percy and his freaking cold showers.

Alright, the water wasn't _that_ cool, but certainly not as warm as Jason would have liked.

He tipped his head back, letting the water rain down on him as he pondered Percy's and his relationship, the things they had done, the things they hadn't…

Then he thought back to that urge to push Percy down, to show him his place, to make him moan and gasp and beg, to make him completely fall apart beneath him.

Jason tried for a moment to replace Percy with Nico, but Jason recoiled at the mere thought.

He didn't even bother trying to picture Will in any similar scenario, knowing he'd rather move to the other end of the world than put Will through anything like that.

Why Percy, then?

He didn't even strike him as anybody who'd like something like that.

Then again…

Jason remembered the way Percy had instantly turned so wondrously submissive when Nico had pushed him down on New Year's Eve, all that time ago.

That…Jason was pretty sure that had been the first time he had seen Percy like that.

Now, he had to wonder why he remembered _that scene_ all too vividly, while plenty other things from that night seemed much vaguer, and he clearly remembered he had been more than just a little tired back then.

Had Jason…felt this way for longer already?

Had it just never occurred to him because of their bromance?

What _was_ a bromance, anyways?

He had never really understood it.

At Camp Jupiter, nobody had attempted to have anything of the sort with him.

He had had his friends, and once he had been Praetor, the others had treated him with nothing but respect (and a few negative feelings, on occasion, but that was to be expected).

Nobody would have ever walked up to him, clapped him on the shoulder (or the butt…) and started a _bromance_ with him.

Then again, why had Percy?  
Back on the Argo II., he had kind of assumed it was because of their fight when they had been possessed by the eidolons.

That Percy had wanted to make sure they were on good terms, and wouldn't let their rivalry get in the way of their quest.

But then…they had sort of just remained bros, had started spending more time with each other, getting to know each other better, and the sleep-overs had happened, and Nico had happened, and they had just…

Oh, Jason wasn't sure.

He didn't know what to make of this.

When he thought of Nico, he felt warm and fuzzy, felt the tension disappearing in his shoulders, felt the smile itching to spread on his face.

He knew instantly that he loved him, that he wanted to hold him, protect him, touch him, feel him, kiss him, be close to him, be with him, for the rest of his life.

When he thought of Will, his heart started beating faster, and he immediately thought of his freckles, of his vibrant smile, of the way his eyes gleamed, of the way Jason could gaze at him for hours on end and not get tired.

He wanted to hold him too, wanted to love him, wanted to kiss him, wanted to feel him beneath, on top, beside, and behind him, anywhere, as long as he was there, as long as Jason could be with him, and he never wanted to miss that in his life, either.

But when he thought of Percy…

Jason sighed deeply, trying to pinpoint his feelings, his thoughts, everything that came to mind when he thought of Percy Jackson.

Percy…always gave him a small sense of peace, the knowledge that things would work out somehow.

Especially with all his crazy plans.

In a way, because Percy was so overly expressive, and showed how he felt, without giving a damn what people thought, he always managed to calm Jason, even when he wasn't doing anything at all, just because Jason knew he didn't have to watch over him in any way.

He didn't have to protect Percy from people's gazes, from their words, from their actions.

While Will and Nico could hold their ground just as well, he knew other people's words affected them much more than they would Percy.

Also, it felt nice, being around Percy.

One could expect something unusual and undoubtedly crazy to happen each and every time.

Yesterday's training lesson was another good example for that.

Who would seriously chase Jason through the arena?

Nobody would dare.

Especially not for no real reason whatsoever.

Just for fun.

Only Percy would have that idea.

Percy was crazy, but in all the best ways.

And Jason loved that about him.

Jason turned off the water, and frowned at himself.

Love?

So…did that mean he _did_ love Percy?

But you couldn't love a person just because you liked how crazy they were!

That was hardly even a good thing!

That was as if Jason said he loved Piper because she was pretty!

Oh, this was too confusing.

Frustrated with himself, he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off with the towel, then slipped back into his boxer shorts.

Why hadn't he taken new ones with him, again?

Then again, it didn't really matter, they'd probably stay in bed for another three hours, anyways.

He huffed and looked at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth hurriedly, going through his wet hair once more before finally exiting the bathroom.

Would Percy be too upset with him (for _whatever reasons ever_ ) to dry him off?

Nico walked past him, looking as if he wanted to say something for a moment, but then he didn't, instead sending him a reassuring smile, and Jason sighed.

Why weren't they helping, anyways?

If there was something wrong, shouldn't they at least give him a hint, so he could work on a solution?

Or maybe this was the hint, and him realizing whether or not his feelings for Percy were strong enough was the solution.

Percy was already lying in bed again, hogging Will to his chest and plastering kisses all over the side of his face and his neck.

Will lifted one hand in greeting, looking as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself, though he also complained loudly about Percy being 'overly affectionate' again.

Jason felt as if Will really shouldn't complain.

He also felt as if Percy could share at least _some_ of that affection with _him_ , he surely wouldn't mind.

…Was he _jealous_?

Jason rolled his eyes at himself, pretty sure he really _was_ overthinking things now.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, giving Percy the option to send him to hell, but Percy merely pushed against Will further and made space for Jason to get in behind him wordlessly.

Jason sighed and slipped under the blanket.

Why was there even a blanket?

"I'm wondering why we're even taking showers right now if all we're gonna do is go straight back to bed." Will complained, but Jason wasn't fooled.

He knew Will loved staying in bed for forever.

So, instead of worrying about that, he instead wondered since when Percy let him spoon him, because he was still right behind Percy, and Percy made no move to…move.

Then he realized Percy probably didn't want him to touch him.

Jason pondered that for a moment, then decided he was going to do something very bold.

So far, Percy hadn't outright said anything was wrong, and they had done _this_ before.

He took a deep breath and reached out, wrapping his arms around Percy from behind, with pushing one under him and everything, tugging him against his chest.

 _There_.

Percy stiffened, but didn't say anything for the longest moment, and Jason realized he was still holding his breath, so he released it, trying to catch a glimpse of Percy's face to see how okay or not-okay this was.

"Now I can't smother Will anymore." Percy said quietly, without discernable emotion, and Jason hesitated, before pressing his lips against Percy's shoulder.

He was about to ask whether Percy would prefer him to let go of him again, but Will clicked his tongue.

"Smother Jason instead, then, you cuddle-addict." The blonde deadpanned, sitting up and winking at Jason for whatever reason, a smile tugging on his lips.

What?

First, he sent Jason into disarray about his emotions, and now he was winking at him?

That guy.

Plus, who was _he_ calling a cuddle-addict?

If he remembered correctly, Will and Jason were the cuddliest in the group.

Nico enjoyed closeness, but tended to flee once he was asleep or things got too warm; and Percy was more the sort that wanted exaggerated amounts of affection at any given time, but tended to change his mind a lot about where he wanted to be and who he wanted the affection from.

Will climbed over them and pressed his lips against Jason's temple, and Jason wanted to tell him not to leave the two of them alone.

But Will merely stroked through his hair and walked off to Nico's laptop.

 _Mean_.

Percy huffed, then sighed deeply, and Jason felt a tiny bit hurt.

Apparently, Percy really didn't like him right now, huh?

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked quietly, hearing Will moving about behind him, but not looking around to check what he was even doing.

Knowing Will, this was his way of giving them space, no matter if Jason actually _wanted_ said space or not.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Percy replied simply, and Jason wasn't sure whether he was genuine or not.

Since Percy still seemed odd, he doubted it.

"If you say so…" He muttered quietly, anyways.

It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it, so Jason wasn't going to push it, after all.

Percy merely huffed.

Then he shifted to get more comfortable, and Jason smiled automatically when Percy actually seemed to snuggle into him the tiniest bit.

"For the record, I'll be the big spoon later."

Of course.

"Sure. I don't mind either way." He said, tugging Percy closer, and Percy huffed again.

"I do not 'mind', either. Just don't feel like being smothered with heat the next some hours, that's all."

Of course.

Because they all knew how much Percy 'hated' being smothered by them.

Right.

"Percy, _I'm_ supposed to be the one with the denial issues here, you can't just imitate that. Come on, just tell him, will you? He already knows something's bothering you." Will called over, and Jason frowned, especially when Percy moved to scowl over his shoulder into the general direction of Will's voice.

"Percy?" Jason asked, but Percy didn't look at him, instead still glowering at Will.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. Just tell him, or I'll do it for you. He's really worried, you know?" Will stated, and Jason was at a loss even more than before.

What…?

Okay, this definitely seemed _serious_.

"No." Percy retorted, then turned his head away again, and Jason instinctively tightened his grip on him to prevent him from leaving his embrace, even if Percy didn't yet make any move to.

Alright, Percy was most definitely upset, it was most definitely Jason's fault, and Percy most definitely didn't wish to talk about it.

 _Splendid_.

That, plus the fact that Jason still had no idea whatsoever as to what to make of Percy in regard of his feelings, truly made for a shitty morning already.

Now, Jason could only hope it would get better.

He shifted, wrapping himself completely around Percy as best as he could, and Percy huffed indignantly, though he made no move to escape, not even when Jason pressed his lips against his shoulder.

Percy still didn't say anything, though.

Jason kind of wanted to look over his shoulder towards Will, but he knew that would only upset Percy even further, and Will didn't seem to wish to help just yet.

Or maybe this already was his way of 'helping'.

Ugh, so much confusion.

Jason closed his eyes, hoping Nico would get done in the bathroom soon, so Will could go, and the four of them could snuggle together right after.

That was bound to solve all problems, right?

Jason hoped so.

Now, he only had to figure out just how he felt for Percy.

If only it was that easy…

...

Percy sulked, snuggling into Will's embrace as he tried to block out a certain other blonde idiot, who was currently stuck behind Nico at the edge of the bed, though Percy could still feel him watching him just fine.

Couldn't he just leave him alone?

Why did Will even have to say anything in the first place?

Percy was certain Jason would have dropped the matter if only Will hadn't said anything.

It was nothing, after all.

Just something stupid, something trivial.

…Fine, Percy was still a bit upset.

About everything and nothing.

But it was stupid, so he didn't want to talk about it.

He knew what would happen if he walked up to Jason and told him he wanted more affection, more feeling, more ' _more'_ between them.

Jason would give it, but only to make Percy happy, only because he'd be asking for that.

Not because Jason would want to do that.

But it was okay that Jason didn't want to do that!

It was perfectly alright!

Percy was fine with them being the way they were!

He knew better than to enforce anything else.

But…that didn't mean it felt great, either.

It did sting, to be honest.

Quite a bit, too.

But Percy would live.

It was all just because he could see how affectionate Jason was with the other two, and Percy just sort of wanted to feel the same way they did, probably.

So, really, it was just him being stupid.

Though, in all fairness, Jason was stupid, too.

If he hadn't kissed Percy in the first place, Percy would have never gotten to know how _nice_ it felt, and he undoubtedly wouldn't be feeling the way he was now.

They'd just be bros or something, and everything would have been alright.

…Or not.

The thought of Jason _not_ dating him felt rather horrible, after all.

Gods, what if Jason actually didn't see them as a real couple?

No, he had called Percy his boyfriend just earlier.

His _beautiful_ boyfriend, he had even said.

The thought made Percy feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, especially when he remembered that gleam in Jason's eyes.

It hadn't stayed, though.

Percy had thought Jason was going to touch him, maybe even kiss him, but then he had merely _pat his shoulder_ , before moving off to the bathroom.

Seriously, who did that?

It seemed so…dismissive.

Percy didn't want Jason to be dismissive.

His constant sighing was already bad enough.

Percy huffed to himself, burying his face in Will's shirt, who ran his hands up and down Percy's bare back softly.

"We should probably pick up breakfast soon, or there'll be so many other campers around again." Nico muttered behind him, and Percy half agreed, half never wanted to leave this bed again in his life.

Will grumbled, apparently sharing Percy's wish to stay here forever, where it was nice and safe and warm (though they'd probably melt once the sun was up completely).

"Fine. How about you and I go and pick up food, while Percy and Jason stay here and-…" Will relented, and Percy instantly knew where he was trying to go with this.

"No." He interrupted him, and Will huffed, though he didn't immediately argue.

Instead, he pinched his side.

"Percy, what's wrong? Did I do something? I'm trying to think of what I could have possibly done to upset you, but I fear you'll have to help me with that." Jason said quietly behind him, and Percy made a face, tempted to pinch Will right back.

Thanks so much.

This was just _great_.

He didn't want to talk to Jason.

He wanted to drown his misery in Will's arms.

Both Will and Nico stroked over his back as if in consolation, though then, they _both_ pulled away again, and he glowered up at Will darkly for a moment, before turning his face to look at Jason, trying to act unbothered.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Everything is just fine. You're imagining things." He deadpanned, and Jason let out a deep sigh that made Percy's heart ache.

Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before looking right past Percy and towards Will, probably exchanging a telling glance with him or whatever.

Percy turned his head away again, trying to hide the pain.

"With which he means to say he's heartbroken." Will said loudly, mercilessly, making Percy wince and scowl and _really_ pinch his side, though Will merely swatted his hand away.

"What?" Jason asked, sounding so horribly confused it made Percy's heart _ache_.

He shot Will a warning look.

How did he even _know_?!

Will gave him an unimpressed look that said 'I warned you, Percy'.

Percy already knew he was doomed before Will even opened his mouth again.

"He's upset because you're not kissing him more often, and it's making him anxious and think you like us more than him. That makes him uneasy, and because he doesn't like feeling uneasy, he's working hard on finding things he can fight about with you in order to get you to kiss him more often, which, in turn, upsets him even more. Why do you think he's always ready to fight when it comes to you?" Will explained, and Percy scowled so hard his face hurt.

Why?!

He wished he could hate this guy sometimes.

" _Fuck you_ , sun-bug." He snapped, then tried to hide at his chest again.

It only occurred to him a moment later he hadn't denied it.

Shit.

"Percy?" Jason asked, the same moment Will replied "No thanks."

Ugh, Will.

Percy threw him an exasperated look.

"Well, fuck me, then. Whatever. Fuck _yourself_ , how about that? Jason, don't listen to him."

"Percy, your mom would be so upset if she knew you were throwing around the f-word so much these days." Nico chided behind him, and Percy blinked, before making a face and pointedly looking away from _all_ of them.

True, he had to call his mom.

They had only managed a quick call two days after they had gotten together, to inform her of the return of the monsters, as well as announce to her they had started dating.

To his surprise, she hadn't been surprised in the slightest.

In fact, she had been _a lot_ like Will's siblings, because the moment they had told her (okay, to be fair, Jason had done most of the talking at that moment, because Percy had started babbling incoherent nonsense in his excitement), all she had done was smile her widest smile at them – before turning around and yelling towards Paul in the other room that _he owed her a lunch date_ , because she had known it would 'happen this year, still'.

 _His own mother_ had bet on his love life; could anybody believe it?

Scandalous.

Well, at least those news had taken most of the blow out of the news that the monsters were back.

For the time being, at least.

But yeah, he had to call her again sometime.

Maybe not right now, though.

"Yeah, well, she doesn't have to know, does she now? You're not going to sell my out to my own mother, right?" He asked, acting offended, and Nico sighed.

"Percy?" Jason repeated, and Percy made a face, trying to find something else to talk about.

"Yes, Sparky? Hey, look, it's pretty late already, how about we go and pick up break-…" He tried, but then Jason was already moving, leaning over Nico to put his hand on Percy's cheek to turn his face, and the next moment, his lips met Percy's, effectively shutting him up.

Percy first wanted to argue, wanted to brush him off, but then he found himself sighing into the kiss, and he vaguely noticed Will pulling away from him completely to give them space.

The kiss was surprisingly gentle, almost like the one they had when they got together.

It was also over way too quickly.

"It's not even…" Percy started, but Jason put his finger to his lips immediately, shushing him.

"What did we agree on?"

Percy pushed out his bottom lip, but Jason wasn't moved, instead tapping against it.

"What?" Jason repeated, his voice calm, and not necessarily scolding, but it certainly still felt like it.

Percy huffed.

"That we talk about things that bother us the moment they bother us." He finally relented, and Jason nodded, stroking over his cheek.

"So why didn't you tell me?" Jason asked, and Percy absolutely didn't like talking about this, especially not _now_.

Then, he noticed with a frown that Jason was _next to him_ , which meant he must have climbed over Nico.

Why had his _boyfriend_ just watched and let that happen?!

 _Mean!_

(The fact that all three of them were his boyfriends didn't change _anything_ right then and there, okay?)

"Percy." Jason tried to get his attention again as Percy glanced around at Nico distractedly, trying to manage a glare.

"Ah…erm…well, because…it wasn't that big of a deal? I mean, it's cool, right? You don't _have_ to kiss me, man, I totally get it…" He winced at his own words, but somehow figured it would be a better idea to keep going instead of falling silent.

Yeah, well, he was hungry, he needed breakfast, and it was way too comfortable in bed like this, so…yeah…

Jason sighed, and Percy inwardly winced.

He hated it that Jason _always_ sighed when it came to Percy.

Will flinched behind him, and Jason's eyes left Percy for the fraction of a moment, his mouth a thin line.

Then he moved closer, stroking over Percy's cheek, but Percy pulled away, suddenly feeling _annoyed_.

"Percy…"

"Yeah, no, forget it. Anyways, I'm hungry, I'm gonna go grab breakfast." He snapped back, then realized he'd have to climb over Jason for that, so he changed plans and instead tried to hide at Will's chest once more, who funnily enough instantly wrapped his arms around him.

Jason sighed behind him, then stopped mid-sigh, then advanced again.

"Percy, you know it's not like that. And I am _not_ sighing because of you! I'm sighing because of myself. I should have noticed. Moreover, I should have talked with you." He explained, and Percy stilled, trying to figure out whether Jason was trying to apologize or break up with him.

He wouldn't, right?

But then why did he have to say it like that?

'I should have noticed.'

'I should have talked with you.'

That sounded horrible.

Not necessarily the words, even, but the way he said it, so defeated, as if he had dreaded this might happen sooner or later.

What _would_ happen if Jason and he broke up?

Or any of them, really?

Ugh, he didn't even want to _think_ about it.

They had only been dating for a week!

Will stroked over his side soothingly.

"Shh, he's apologizing, Percy."

How did Will even know?

How did he know Percy's fears?

How did he know what Jason meant?

Those two had stumbled into enough misunderstandings before, what if this was a misunderstanding, too, and Percy was actually completely right to worry?

Jason moved closer from behind, stroking up and down his back, then nudging Will's hands away to get to his sides.

"Yes, I'm apologizing. You want to know why I wasn't kissing you? Why I'm not that touchy-feely with you as I am with Will and Nico?" Jason asked, his lips pressing against Percy's spine.

Percy tried to flee further into Will, but Will cruelly pulled away, patting his arm with an encouraging expression.

Did he _have_ to tell Jason all that, anyways?

How had he even known?

Sure, Percy knew he could feel more than just their values, but _this_?

It wasn't as if he could read Percy's _thoughts_ , right?

Percy shook his head stubbornly.

He didn't want to know Jason's great reasoning.

In fact, he didn't want to know _anything_.

He was going to sleep now.

If he couldn't get food, sleep was the next best thing.

Yes.

End of story.

Jason kissed his spine again, moving upwards to the back of his neck, and Percy tried to shake him off.

Annoying brat.

"Do you want to know?" Jason asked, his voice gentle and alluring.

Percy made a face and squeezed his eyes shut, before he rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in the pillow.

Jason wasn't perturbed, relentlessly coming closer, his lips moving from Percy's upper arm to his neck.

 _This guy_!

Why did he have to be so _persistent_?

"Are you sure?" Jason asked when he shook his head again, and Percy grumbled into the pillow.

If he wanted to tell so badly, why didn't he just get it over with and do it?

"Because I thought you wouldn't want me to, Percy." Jason said anyways, and for a moment, Percy froze.

Then his scowl deepened, making him glad his face was buried in the pillow.

Yeah, right.

Now it was Percy's fault, huh?

"Think about it, Percy. With us, it's always a competition. Everything is. Since we got together, you never gave me the impression you wanted me closer, unless when you were trying to rile me up. So I just figured that's your way of letting me know 'Hey Jason, I'd like some attention from you right now'." Jason tried to explain, and now Percy pouted.

 _But that was the problem._

Jason only ever did anything when Percy wanted him to.

Jason never showed that _he_ wanted anything from Percy.

"Jason, you're looking at this the wrong way."

Percy half expected Will to speak up.

But it wasn't Will.

It was _Nico_.

Jason stilled, his lips still near Percy's neck.

"You see, Percy is a person who needs a lot of attention."

Thanks a lot, Nico.

"But he doesn't like _reaching out_ for attention. You're saying you're showing him attention when he wants to. Percy _always_ wants attention, though. So, if he has to reach out to you to get it, he gets upset. To him, it doesn't feel like 'Hey, Jason caught the hint I'm okay with affection now, so he dares to come closer', but more of a 'Oh, look, he's coming closer because I called him'." Nico explained, and if Percy wasn't too busy being upset about them talking about him _when he was right there_ , he'd have been surprised to find Nico summing him up like that.

Not to mention Nico speaking up at all.

Not to mention Nico actually understood what Percy's problem was.

Though that last one also upset him, because now Jason knew, too.

"Wait, so you're telling me he's upset because I'm trying to respect his boundaries?" Jason asked, sounding mildly confused, and Percy huffed into his pillow, while Will snorted.

"Dude, he doesn't _have_ any boundaries. Nico is right. He wants attention 24/7, wants _affection_ 24/7. If you only come whenever you think _he_ wants you to, it makes him feel as if _you_ never want to get closer." Will chimed in, and Percy wanted to be somewhere else now.

 _Thanks a lot, guys._

Jason was silent for a long moment.

"That's stupid." He then muttered, and Percy grabbed hold of the pillow.

The next moment, Jason felt said pillow whacking him across the head, while Will and Nico jumped away.

"What the-…"

"Fuck you, Jason!" Percy exclaimed, whacking him again as Jason sat up, looking confused and partly affronted.

"I didn't mean it like _that_!" Jason argued, but Percy just shoved the pillow into his face, anyways.

"Percy, chill. Let him explain himself." Will remarked behind him, but Nico shook his head.

"No, I think Jason actually hurt his feelings right there."

Jason _had_.

Percy pulled the pillow away for a moment, just to peek at his face, and when Jason's eyes focused on him, he smacked him again.

"Violence is never the answer." Will argued wisely.

"He's not even hurting him, Will." Nico argued back.

Nice to know at least Nico was on his side.

"Maybe not, but how is Jason supposed to explain to him what he meant if Percy isn't giving him a chance?" Will pointed out.

Percy wished they'd both argue about this someplace else.

"Well, how would you feel if somebody you cared about just randomly invalidated your feelings like that?" Nico asked, and Percy huffed to himself, whacking Jason again, who at this point wasn't even trying to defend himself anymore.

Though Percy did think he could hear a muffled 'I wasn't!' at some point.

 _Idiot!_

Stupid idiot!

Percy _hated_ him.

"Percy, would you like to do those naked cuddles again tonight?" Will asked, and Percy halted, blinking and glancing around at Will in confusion.

What…?

The next moment, something slammed into him, knocking him into the mattress.

There was hot breath against his neck, and two strong arms wrapped around him, keeping him firmly in the sheets and his arms pinned to his side.

"Percy! I didn't mean it like that. And I'm not trying to invalidate _anything_. I just meant it's stupid to even think _for one moment_ I wouldn't want to get closer to you. _Of course_ I'd like to do that, you idiot."

 _Lies._

Percy scowled, trying to wriggle out from beneath Jason, but that only made Jason hold him tighter, and Percy didn't like how oddly cool Jason's skin felt against his lower back.

"Percy, come on." Jason tried again, this time softer, his lips pressing against the side of Percy's neck again.

"Let me go." Percy ordered, and Jason sighed, his arms giving him free, though he made no move to get off him.

"Percy, I mean it. I'd _love_ to do more with you. More often, more kisses, more touches…I…I could…I mean, if you want to, I could…"

Percy stilled automatically and turned his head ever so slightly, suddenly curious.

Was Jason _stuttering_?

Jason cleared his throat and busied himself with picking up his glasses he had placed next to Nico, probably right before he had plowed into Percy like that.

Percy turned his head a bit further, intrigued.

Jason usually didn't stutter like that.

Jason never stuttered at all.

Plus, what was up with that full-body blush of his?

Yes, Percy was _very_ intrigued.

"I mean…if you want to…we…I…I could…erm…okay, never mind. Forget it. I'll…that can wait for some other time. Anyways. As I was saying, erm…what was I saying…" Jason continued, still not quite getting his bearings, and Percy realized he that had to be the first time he saw Jason quite _this_ beside himself.

Wow.

He…actually, he liked that.

"You were trying to seduce Percy, Jason. 'Let me make out with you right here, right now' is what you were saying." Will put in next to them, and Percy felt his face heating, though it was nothing compared to Jason's blush, which was now quickly darkening.

"Shush, Freckles. That was…never mind that. It doesn't…"

"You want to make out with me?" Percy asked, partly amazed, partly bewildered, as he raised his eyebrows and turned his head further to look at more of Jason.

Jason definitely looked uncomfortable now, and when Percy pushed himself up, Jason immediately moved backwards and off him.

Was this guy for real?

"We made out just yesterday." He stated, still confused as to why this would fluster Jason quite to _this_ extent, though he couldn't help but feel his heart thumping wildly in his chest at the thought, too.

Yesterday, Percy had initiated it, because he had seen his chance to get closer to Jason, and taken it immediately.

Now, Jason was indicating _he_ wanted to initiate something between them.

"I know! I know, but I…at first, I didn't even know whether you were serious. As I said, I didn't think you were actually interested in me that way, so I didn't want to scare you off!" Jason explained, sounding slightly frantic, but somehow, Percy found his eyes moving down to Jason's boxer shorts.

He had had his hand around Jason's dick yesterday, he knew how big he was.

And, while he knew full well this was _not_ what Jason meant by 'scaring him off', he still found himself huffing indignantly.

"You're not _that_ big, you dick."

…He had said that out loud, hadn't he?

Will snorted and seemed so adamant about slapping his hands over his mouth that he lost his balance, nearly toppling backwards off the bed if it hadn't been for Nico holding him just in time, staring at them with wide eyes – though he seemed more curious than shocked, really.

Jason groaned.

"Not _that_! I just didn't-…I wasn't sure how you'd-…are you _laughing_? Percy, I can see that grin. You little shit! Here I am, struggling with my words, and you _laugh_?" Jason suddenly exclaimed, while Percy was trying to hold back his laugh, hiding his mouth behind his hand as inconspicuously as possible while trying to look as innocent as he could.

Apparently, Jason could see right through that, though.

Jason also seemed to be pretty offended.

Oops.

"I'm not laughing at you! It's just…you were worried about scaring me away with that monster dick of yours, while I was sort of hoping you'd at the very least _look_ at me the way you do with them, your dick be damned. It's just…ironic? Ironic, I guess." He tried to explain himself, and Will snorted, whispering 'monster dick' to Nico, who waved a hand in his face as if that made him stop.

It didn't. Nothing ever stopped Will.

Jason buried his face in his hands.

"This is _not_ about my dick!"

Percy wanted to cackle at the despair in Jason's voice.

This was most _definitely_ revenge for Jason's earlier 'That's stupid'-statement.

"Oh, come on, Handsome. You know he just keeps mentioning your dick because he wants to get his hands on it again. Or maybe he wants to get something else on it…?" Will teased, and Percy's face exploded with heat, while Jason of course just had to look up with that surprised, searching expression that made Percy blush even more.

Will!

"That is not…I do _not_ …that is…you are _impossible_ , sun-bug! That's it, I'm getting breakfast. Now." Percy snapped, trying very hard not to meet Jason's eyes in any way, though he very well saw Jason relaxing out of the corners of his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips now.

 _Hey_.

Jason had no business smiling!

Percy threw the pillow at him as he climbed off the bed, and Jason let out a small wail, while Will snorted out a laugh.

Jason did Percy the favor of smacking Will with the pillow, next.

Nico immediately fled the bed, apparently not wanting to partake in any pillow fights.

Smart boyfriend.

"Feeling better now?" Nico asked softly as Percy pulled open his backpack, tugging out his last clothes he had.

They'd have to go by his cabin later, or finally wash their laundry (Jason could do that).

He sighed, first glancing at Nico, then over to the bed, where Will was now repeatedly hitting Jason with the Mrs. O'Leary Jr. and demanding more respect.

Jason caught him looking, and sent him an almost shy smile, before half-heartedly lifting his arm to 'block' Will's attacks.

Percy's lips twitched, and he looked back down at his clothes.

"Yeah…"

"Good." Nico commented with a small smile, then he tugged the shirt right out of Percy's hands.

"And I'm wearing that today, thank you very much. Ask your boyfriends if they want to share clothes with you."

Then, just like that, his boyfriend disappeared into the bathroom with a _very_ un-Nico-like cackle, leaving Percy standing there and staring after him utterly dumbfounded.

He turned to look at his guys, who had both stopped to watch, both with similarly surprised expressions.

Then Will's expression morphed into a broad, cheeky grin.

"Somebody is getting more confident, huh?"

Apparently.

Percy's eyes met Jason's, and the blonde smiled again in that almost shy way, so unlike Jason's usually so confident behavior.

And, while Percy absolutely loved it when Nico became more dominant, he found himself rather drawn to this gentle, non-dominant side of Jason.

Though he couldn't deny he _definitely_ wouldn't mind Jason pushing him down into the bed again, preferably with both of them naked…

Percy's stomach grumbled loudly.

Yeah, okay, all of that would have to wait until later though.

Food first.

"Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast!" He chanted, trying to get his boyfriends to hurry up and get dressed completely, but they both merely gave him long looks.

"Percy, you're not even dressed yet, yourself." Will chided, while Jason threw him one of his shirts – which would have been great, if…

"Did you have to give me the one that says 'JASON GRACE' on it?" He asked as he eyed the purple fabric in his hands, wondering where Jason even had even gotten that thing from in the first place.

It had to be one of the only clothes in his wardrobe (or travel bag, right now) that wasn't an ungodly color, but…with his name on it…?

"Oh yeah, Reyna got me that. You don't like it?" Jason asked, already roaming his bag for something else that wouldn't be all _that_ big on Percy, undoubtedly.

Percy hurriedly slipped into it to prevent him from actually taking the shirt from him again.

"Well, I'm not Jason Grace, am I now?" He deadpanned, though he also held onto the shirt, determined to keep it.

"Yeah, but you're mine." Jason retorted, and those had to be the most perfect words in the world.

Percy could feel his heart missing a beat in his chest, and Will chuckled from where he was getting dressed, himself.

"Aren't you two just adorable?"

"Shush, Freckles."

"You're just jealous because _I_ got the Jason-shirt first."

Will snorted, then came over to 'inspect' the shirt – just to then start poking Percy in the side.

"Oh, sure I am. Absolutely. Come here, you adorable fool!" He exclaimed while Percy wailed and tried to escape, but the moment he managed to take two steps away from him, Will already all but pounced on him, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

Jason joined in no second later from his other side.

"Aww, a group hug. Lemme join in!" Nico's voice sounded, and the next moment, Percy felt himself engulfed by all three of his boyfriends.

A happy, elated smile spread on his lips as he felt the warmth and giddy affection for these dorks rush through him, and he hugged them back.

Okay, this day might not be all that bad, after all.

Gods, he loved these guys.

Percy's eyes fixed on Jason, who was gazing at him softly, looking content and happy, too.

Yeah, he might just love Jason, too.

...

"It's probably all about the sex, anyways."

Will tried to act indifferent, though that didn't mean he couldn't hear what the people around them said.

"I know right? Maybe it's a gay thing, you know? I heard gays often have such 'open relationships' and all. Guess they don't care about _monogamy_."

Couldn't they take their conversations somewhere else?

Will forced himself to tune them out, instead nudging Percy to share his blue pasta with him.

Percy, that ass, first acted as if he was going to, but then he ate the forkful of pasta, himself.

Will acted aghast.

"There I permit you to eat pasta, and _this_ is how you thank me? I am shocked by your impudence, young man. This is it, nothing but salad for you for the rest of the week!" He declared, and Percy promptly wailed and made to push his entire plate towards Will, trying to feed him all the pasta he could possibly want (or _not_ want, since he had really only wanted to try it…).

Will huffed, acting upset for another moment until Percy gave him the puppy eyes.

Then he grinned at his boyfriend and allowed him to feed him.

"Oh well, I guess you _might_ just be allowed to eat something other than salad…I'm thinking _fish_ …"

Jason and Nico threw them knowing looks as Percy whined, then continued their conversation about the secret ingredient that made brownies so irresistible.

Jason insisted it was the overall balance, while Nico insisted it was the consistency, though they both agreed the chocolate had to play a big part in it.

Will didn't care, he found these guys much more irresistible than brownies could ever be.

"And then he says he was raped. Seriously, if he was raped, you think he'd be able to date _three guys_? Why not date a _girl_ , instead? It doesn't make sense. The whole thing doesn't make sense. Why would Kyle come here, try to get Will, then run away again? I say there's something fishy there."

Ah.

 _Those_ people, again.

Will tried very hard not to let anything show, instead putting on his actor's smile and trying to focus solely on his wonderful boyfriends.

Percy next to him suddenly stiffened.

 _Uh-oh._

Had he heard?

Percy glanced sideways at him, and Will was quick to make his grin grow wider, acting as if nothing was amiss whatsoever.

His boyfriend studied his expression for a moment, then he, too, smiled, holding out another forkful of pasta for Will to eat, even though he wasn't particularly feeling hungry anymore.

Percy didn't care and fed him anyways.

"What are we going to do later? Percy and I are already done with the training lessons, but I thought it would be good if we tried practicing our archery. After that, we could help you out in the infirmary, though, if you want." Nico offered, but Will waved off.

"It's alright. Right now, there's only minor injuries, but otherwise we're mostly just preparing ointments and creams and medication for possible emergencies. Nothing you can really help with much, since we're already way too many people trying to work on the same thing, as it is." He explained, though he inwardly wished they could keep him company, anyways.

Since Kyle's visit, Will didn't like being in the infirmary all that much anymore, seeing as to how easily he had gotten trapped inside it (again…).

Though, with all the people around all the while, it wasn't that bad.

His siblings made sure to stick to his side the entire time he was in there, anyways.

Seriously, those kids.

Will loved them just as much as he was annoyed by them.

They certainly were the nosiest bunch he had ever had the pleasure (or not) to know.

But oh well.

"I bet it's all just because they're all pining after the di Angelo kid. Poor Percy, it must be so horrible for him to know he can't satisfy him."

 _Excuse you?!_

Will bristled, glancing around for the source of the voice, though with all the kids around them talking, he could only vaguely tell who it might belong to.

At least until that person spoke again.

Percy next to him poked his side, and when Will's gaze snapped to him to check whether he had heard _that_ , he found another forkful of pasta prodding against his lips.

"I think it would be good if we visited Leo, then, so we can ask him whether he can install A/C in Nico's cabin for us." Jason suggested, and Percy instantly brightened, making Will's lips twitch.

True, Percy still feared they'd all just randomly stop with the cuddling.

Fat chance.

But A/C would be cool.

"That's a great idea. While we're at it, I can also ask him to make some copies of my key, then." Nico agreed, and Will blinked.

"Your key?" He asked, then it dawned on him.

Percy next to him looked as if he had just received an early Christmas gift.

Nico blushed slightly, though he remained fairly composed, same as he had throughout the day.

"Well, I mean, you're always over, anyways, so I was thinking…it…well, it would be _simpler_ if you had your own keys…?" The last part sounded more like a question than a statement, and now Nico did start fidgeting slightly, his fingers immediately up at his ear to play with his skull earrings.

Will beamed at him, the rest of the world all but forgotten.

"Why, is this your way of asking us to _live_ with you, Nico-Neek-Neeks?" He asked, though he very well knew that was _exactly_ what Nico had been playing at, in a way.

Due to the nickname (which Will found cute, no matter how many times Nico complained – or maybe especially because of that), Nico seemed to hover between being flustered and being annoyed, as his blush deepened while a scowl formed on his face.

"Well, it's not like we're _not_ technically living together already, anyways." He replied at last, and Will wanted to climb over the table and hug the hell out of that adorable being that was his boyfriend.

"But if you call me _that_ , _again_ , then you can sleep _behind_ my cabin in the future." Nico then added and Will wailed quietly, hiding at Percy's shoulder to escape Nico's wrath.

Or something like that.

In a way, he just felt like getting his hands on Percy to make sure all their attention would remain on them and their conversation, not the things that were being said around them.

Will still tried to tune them out, but that didn't mean he could ignore everything.

He knew they didn't mean it bad.

At least most of them didn't.

They were just confused and were trying to make sense of the situation with the tidbits of information that they had.

Which wasn't much, because there wasn't much they really knew, only assumptions and wild guesses.

Will himself didn't understand what had happened.

But he also didn't really want to find out, either.

Percy put an arm around him, patting his back softly, and Will wailed a bit more about Nico not loving him anymore – which promptly made the Italian argue that he very well loved him, and thus instantly managed to cheer Will up again.

"I'd prefer it if they just stayed in two couples, really. Seems like a bit much, doesn't it?"

Yeah, well, nobody asked for their opinion, okay?

Plus, what sort of statement was that?!

'I would prefer it if…'?

This was… _their_ …relationship? Not…anybody else's?

Why should _they_ be any sort of way just to please a person they didn't even know?

Well, there went his good mood again, he guessed.

Will was glad the four of them had worked things out between them.

He knew how unusual their relationship was, and that not many people got to be happy like this, with the ones they loved, and with them all loving each other truly.

He knew it was rare, but he most definitely wasn't going to waste his chance.

Nope.

He loved this, they loved this, and the fact this was so rare only made it all the better, all the more special.

Because it _did_ exist, and acting as if it didn't, or complaining about it when it was _right there in front of them_ , when people could _see_ how much they loved each other…that was just plain stupid, not to mention _wrong_.

One didn't choose who they loved, and one would think enough time and drama had passed for people to be more understanding of such things.

"Not to mention that _all three_ of the children of the Big Three just so _happen_ to be gay. Seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Aphrodite kids simply went all fangirl-mode and dipped some love potion into their drinks. I mean, Jason and Percy dated girls before just fine."

Erm…ever heard of bisexuality? Pansexuality? Demisexuality? Polyamory? Anything? No?

Yeah, Will figured.

"I know right. It's just not _realistic_."

Oh, but fact they were sitting in a Camp full of kids from gods/goddesses and had to fight monsters in order to survive, was?

Or eating from plates that conjured up their food by themselves like something that might happen in _Harry Potter_?

(Which, by the way, obviously was a _very_ realistic series as well, might he mention.)

He just loved it when the heteronormative people were at it again with their petty arguments about anything not-straight in a world full of other, much stranger, much _worse_ things than one's sexuality, a world full of horrors and sorrows and _abnormalities_ , that should much rather be addressed than _what gender somebody was attracted to_.

Hey, there were these monsters that chased little kids and tried to kill them in the most brutal and morbid ways, just because one of their parents was immortal, and said kids usually only lived up to the age of fifteen if they happened to be lucky, and managed to survive the hell they had to go through all throughout their lives? Hmm, sounded legit.

But wait, what, there was a _gay_ person? _Scandalous_.

 _Four guys_ in a polyamorous relationship, _clearly_ caring for each other and doing all in their power to make things work out for them to be happy for however much time they had? Absolutely _horrifying_ , unrealistic and scandalous and…gods, there were simply not enough _words_ for how _bad_ that was.

Right…

Next up would be his favorite argument of 'But _wait_ , they can't _reproduce_! But that is a human's _only_ responsibility! _Humanity is going to go extinct because of them_!'.

Sadly, Will had heard this argument being used way too many times before, and he was never going to understand the people who believed it.

"Yeah, and if you look closer, you can pretty much divide them up into Percy and Nico, and Jason and Will. They're _really_ just two couples messing around with each other. I'm just not sure who I feel sorrier for. Percy or Jason. Gotta be rough, knowing you're not enough."

Will stiffened.

Okay, that was _it_.

The last straw.

Nobody had any right to 'divide them up', or assume any of them weren't 'good enough'.

What the fuck?!

Percy's hand on his back stilled for a moment, and Will could feel a sudden rush of white, hot, _anger_ shooting through him.

Before Will could even lift his head to try and distract him in any way, though, there was already the sound of glass shattering and a girl screeching.

" _Percy_!" He hissed urgently, already looking around to check whether anybody was injured.

But the girl in question seemed perfectly fine, next to her Camp shirt being drenched in what appeared to be Pepsi/Coke.

Jason and Nico looked around as well, but seemed to know instantly that had been Percy's doing, too, if their pointed looks meant anything.

Though, surprisingly enough, neither of them said anything about it, instead mimicking Percy and looking the other way with greatest interest.

"Hm? What? Did something happen?" Percy asked innocently, his hold on Will tightening, keeping him close.

Will shot him a reprimanding look, but Percy ignored that, simply studying his gaze a moment longer before placing a soft kiss on his nose.

"You look very nice today, Will."

What a charmer.

Will felt his heartbeat quickening at his words, though he tried to act unfazed, anyways, instead raising his eyebrows.

Jason might know he had a thing for praise, but he wasn't going to make it this easy for Percy to figure out the same.

Plus, Percy was just saying that to distract him from the people around them, anyways.

"I'm wearing the same things as always, Percy." He pointed out, and Percy's lips twitched.

"I know." He said seriously, and Will blinked.

…Alright, now he _did_ maybe blush a tiny little bit.

Though he also pulled out of Percy's hold, sitting up straight again and trying to master an unbelieving huff, though it was weak and more flustered than anything else.

Percy started grinning rather smugly, and Will pointedly looked away, instead watching a few other kids trying to help dry off the girl somewhat, who was glowering at him as if all of this was _his_ fault.

Hey!

Arms wrapped around him once more, and he turned his face towards Percy again, sulking inwardly.

"Ignore them." Percy said softly, but Will merely huffed, turning his back to him.

"Speak for yourself, Gorgeous. _I_ don't care what they say. _I_ also generally don't make anything explode." He retorted, trying to brush him off, but Percy only straddled the bench and slid closer, tugging him back against him as his lips pressed against the side of his neck.

That guy!

Not that Will actually minded, but…still…

Will caught the girl's gaze again, and willingly exposed more of his neck to Percy, staring her down.

 _Ha_.

Percy might have been with Nico up until now.

But now he was with _them_ , and he liked it that way, just as much as Will liked it.

His boyfriend smirked against his skin, then started trailing gentle, rather timid kisses along his neck, thankfully avoiding his ears.

He wanted to show off Will was his, but he didn't actually want to turn Will on and embarrass him in front of everybody.

How considerate.

Will closed his eyes and let out a breath that seemed to carry all the tension he had unknowingly built up.

"I love you." Percy whispered, and Will hummed contently, wishing they were back in their cabin, back in their bed, wishing it was still morning instead of noon…

Words reached his ears that he didn't wish to hear, but he didn't let that deter him from enjoying Percy's ministrations.

He wished he didn't have such good hearing.

Then again, that was one of the few actually useful skills he possessed, so he guessed he should be grateful.

He heard Jason getting up, and for a moment, he worried he might have heard them, too.

But Jason didn't move to pick any fights with anybody, instead making his way around the table to them.

Oh.

Lunch was over.

He'd be leaving to continue the planning he had been doing with Annabeth and some other kids.

Why he didn't ask them to join him was beyond Will, but they had decided he'd know best and to be patient for once.

Jason smiled at him, and Will already lifted his chin before Jason even reached him, mutely asking for his kiss.

He always kissed them goodbye, after all.

"I got to go back. See you tonight, okay?" Jason said quietly, then leaned down to press his lips onto Will's, and Will hummed in reply, returning the kiss and tilting his head to deepen it the tiniest bit.

The blonde went along willingly, and Will could feel his hands moving through his hair, so gently, so timidly, it never ceased to amaze Will.

How could somebody so big, strong and powerful be so soft, gentle and affectionate?

It was a mystery.

Will loved him.

Jason pulled back at long last, and Will noticed dazedly that Percy had pulled away slightly, though he still had his arms loosely around Will.

"And we'll see each other in a bit, yeah? I'll pick you up at the archery fields." Jason then said to Percy – and moved his hands into Percy's hair to tug him into a kiss, too.

Will couldn't help but blink, slightly surprised.

Not that they'd kiss, but that they'd do it _now_.

 _Here_.

Will shared a look with Nico, who didn't seem surprised in the slightest as he put his elbow on the table and his chin onto his hand, watching with a crooked grin that Will had never seen on him before.

Well.

Will turned to look at Percy and Jason properly again, noticing how the kiss was a lot gentler and innocent than the ones they usually shared.

He also noticed Percy had his hands at Jason's collar, keeping him right there.

 _Well_.

Will couldn't help it.

He turned his head to look at the girl again, who was staring open-mouthed at the scene unfolding in front of here.

Her eyes met Will's.

Will's smug grin said 'Guess you won't have to feel sorry for either of them'.

Her dumb-struck expression said 'What the fuck?'.

Percy let out a small sound behind him, and Jason seemed to chime in.

" _I need to go_ , Percy. I'm already going to be late."

Yeah, which was totally why Will could see him leaning in to place another hundred (three) pecks on Percy's lips.

Percy made a complainant sound, and Jason seemed torn between trying to get a move on and pleasing Percy.

Will decided to do him a favor and take the decision from him.

"If Percy's getting more than one kiss, I want more, too." He exclaimed, and Jason groaned, but tore himself away from Percy, anyways, who instantly shot Will a look that said 'You did that on utter purpose'.

Yes, yes he had.

Jason gave him a peck on the lips, then turned to leave – just to stop and look back towards Nico with a questioning look.

That considerate fool.

"Shoo with you, tesoro mio." Nico said as he made a shooing motion with his hand, that rather alluring and unusual grin still on his face.

Will glanced back at Jason, and found him looking so relieved for a second, it was almost comical.

(As if he wasn't already one second away from laughing, as it was.)

"But I'm expecting 'I missed you'-kisses when you pick us up!" Nico added as Jason was rushing away, and they heard the blonde groaning loudly, though they all knew he loved being affectionate with them.

They shot each other amused looks, then Percy suddenly wrapped his arms around him again to tug him closer, his face disappearing at the side of his neck with a small, meek sound.

Will blinked, then focused on Percy's emotions, feeling the giddy euphoria rushing through him.

 _Aww_.

Wasn't he just adorable?

Seriously, good thing those two had solved that little issue between them.

It wasn't entirely fixed yet, since Will knew they hadn't exactly worked out their feelings for each other yet, but he knew this was already a great step into the right direction.

And it certainly seemed to make them both happy.

So, yeah, Will was more than content with that.

"Come on, Gorgeous, go hog Nico. I should get going now, too." He said, though a big part of him didn't want Percy to ever let go of him.

"Never." Percy replied like the stubborn child he could be, and his grip on Will tightened.

"We can drop you off, if you like. It's pretty much on the way, anyways." Nico suggested, though it really wasn't.

Will didn't point it out.

Percy didn't, either, instead instantly agreeing with Nico.

He chuckled, lamenting that he couldn't possibly refuse that offer if they already agreed to it so willingly, though he knew they all knew he loved it.

As they got up, his eyes hushed back to the girl, but she was gone, and the other muttering had gone down considerably, too.

Will's smile widened.

Yeah, this was much better.

Percy pressed his lips to his cheek one last time before tugging him away.

Yes, _much_ better.

...

"Your siblings aren't even subtle anymore, Will. Like, not at all." Percy remarked drily, and Nico absolutely agreed, watching with a blank look how the Apollo cabin performed one love song after another, all the while winking and wiggling their eyebrows at them.

Apparently, they had gotten wind of people talking bad about Will's relationship with the guys, so they had taken it upon themselves to show every single camper just how 'in love' they were, and how much they all supported them.

Or something along those lines, anyways.

Will had warned them the moment he had seen them again, and had even suggested they should simply _not_ attend the Camp Fire, but Jason and Percy had acted deaf and dragged them off, anyways.

Nico was a bit torn as to what to think.

On one side, he wanted to be somewhere private with his guys, and he didn't really _need_ to rub anything into anybody's face – in fact, he couldn't care less what all the other kids thought, as long as they left them alone (the Camps were already under enough stress as it was, after all).

But on the _other_ side, he felt the immense urge to do something stupid (which he blamed on Percy's influence), felt like really just shoving it into everybody's face (which reminded him of Will), felt like showing once and for all that he was with _them_ , and they were with _him_ , and that was how it was, and they better dealt with that.

He had somehow hoped Jason (as the most reasonable out of all four of them) would help prevent him from doing any of that, but Jason had kind of shown he completely agreed with Will's siblings when he had grabbed hold of Nico's hand and tugged him off to the Camp Fire.

Oh well.

Just because Nico was here now, that didn't mean he actually had to really _do_ anything, least of all anything stupid.

"Come on guys, at least do us a favor and kiss, will you?" Kayla yelled over, and Will turned to look at Nico in question.

Needless to say, all of Nico's resolutions went right out the window as he cupped Will's face and pushed their lips together, trying to ignore the rush of euphoria and lingering surprise that he could seriously _do_ this now.

Ha! He'd like to know what people said _now_!

…Probably nothing, because they had kissed like this before where others could see.

Annoyed, Nico tilted his head further, blocking out the whooping and loud chatter around him as he instead focused on deepening their kiss.

Will seemed a bit taken aback, his lips still hesitant and so, so soft, though he quickly went along, mashing their lips together more and more hungrily, before Nico's tongue darted out to meet Will's.

There.

Angry make-out for everyone to see.

Will's hands started moving to the back of Nico's neck, tugging him closer as he started straddling his lap from where they sat.

Nico's hands immediately dropped to his hips, pulling him onto him properly.

 _Yes_.

The anger evaporated inside him, making space for warmth and contentment and lust, which felt a lot better.

Who cared what others thought?

Why had Nico even bothered with such unimportant, _trivial_ things?

All that mattered were Will's lips, the way he tasted, the way he smelled, the way his skin felt hot and soft beneath Nico's fingertips as he let his hands move under his shirt.

Will gasped against his lips, then tilted his head further, and their kiss started to become more and more heated, more and more urgent, more and more _desperate_.

More.

Nico wanted _more_.

"Damn, guys, you know we're still outside, right?" Percy's voice sounded somewhere to his left, but he discarded it, his hands now moving up Will's bare back, feeling his already warm skin now _burning_ under his fingertips.

Will gasped again, then moved, pushing his hips forward, and Nico had to resist the urge to groan.

Instead, he pulled Will _closer_ , and Will _let him_ , and they were a mess of open mouthed kisses and fumbling hands.

Laughter and whooping and cheering and a couple of complaints reached his ears, but he brushed that off, too.

Will started pulling away, his panting indicating he needed air, but Nico was unwilling to let him go, his lips pursuing Will's immediately, and the blonde laughed weakly as Nico started tugging on his bottom lip again.

"Nico…"

Gods, _his voice_.

It should be forbidden to sound like this.

It probably was.

He made a small, wanting sound, and Will's lips brushed against his again in an open mouthed, but gentler kiss that seemed to satisfy a part of Nico he hadn't noticed so far.

But he still wanted more.

Wanted Will.

Wanted them to leave and get back to their cabin, wanted to undress Will, wanted to kiss his way up and down and around his body, wanted to get them both into bed, wanted to touch and kiss and lick and _feel_ him against him.

Wanted to find those freckles Percy had mentioned, the freckles that Jason raved about, the freckles Nico _had not yet seen_ …

Then Will's lips suddenly were the ones chasing Nico's, were the ones pushing against his insistently, and now Will was the one pushing against Nico more and more, taking control.

But that was fine, too.

 _Great_ , even.

Nico wanted him to want him.

Wanted him to touch him, to kiss him, to feel him, wanted him to _want_ all that the same way Nico wanted it.

"Why am _I_ never getting ravished like that at the Camp Fire?" Percy asked, and Will snorted into the kiss, effectively ruining the moment.

Thank you, Percy.

Nico grumbled, turning his head to glower at Percy for all he was worth, and his boyfriend grinned cheekily at him.

Freaking bastard had done that on utter purpose!

He looked back at Will, who was still laughing, though he also looked pretty guilty.

Well, pretty _and_ guilty.

Gods, he was beautiful.

With the light of the fire behind him, he looked a bit like a god, glowing and radiant and wonderful.

"No, seriously, I mean, sure, this is just the second time we came here and all, but I-…" Percy started again next to them, and they shared a look, before they both turned towards him and pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt.

Will managed to capture Percy's lips first, so Nico changed course and aimed for his shoulder, instead, pulling their baffled boyfriend closer as Will climbed off his lap.

The sudden lack of action for him led to him actually registering the amount of _noise_ around them again.

So loud _._

What were they even saying?

Were there even actual words, or was it just yelling?

Seriously, it almost sounded as if a monster was on the loose inside the Camp.

He didn't even check whether there was.

Will motioned for him to get closer, so Nico did, kissing his way from Percy's clothed shoulder to his bare neck, enjoying the feeling of his skin a lot more than the fabric.

The blonde shifted and moved, tugging on Nico's arm to get him to get between him and Percy, and it took him a moment to realize Will was trying to put them into the same position they had been back in the park, all that time ago.

(Seriously, it felt as if _years_ had passed since then…)

Just that Will apparently wanted to switch roles with Nico.

Nico decided that was more than just fine by him, nipping at Percy's neck as Percy gasped softly, still seeming utterly dumbfounded by what was going on.

That's what he got for complaining.

Sure, he had probably only done that to prevent them from going too far and doing something they'd later on regret, but _still_.

Plus, it wasn't as if this could possibly be considered punishment.

Percy loved it, Nico could tell that much.

"Take a fucking picture or so the gods help me!" Somebody yelled loudly from somewhere disturbingly close, making all three of them wince and pull away.

There was wailing, there was whooping, there was everything, and too much of all of it.

Why was everything just so _loud_?

"Maybe we should go back to the cabin." Jason suggested, and when Nico glanced around at him, he was letting his gaze trail over the other kids, too.

Nico was ready to agree, when he heard it.

"This is just _wrong_. Seriously, how can anybody support this shit? This is _sickening_. But it definitely shows one thing: At least one of them will _always_ be left out. That definitely won't last. Let the hype die down, and let one of them actually _seriously_ fall in love with one of the others, and they'll fall apart like jackstraws."

Nico felt Will freeze, and Jason's jaw clenched, as both of them suddenly moved as if to get up.

Uh-oh.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something like 'Hey, let's ignore that dipshit' or 'Let's leave'.

Something reasonable and supportive.

"I wanna play jackstraws." Percy suddenly said, and Nico blinked, taken aback.

As did the guys, who had already turned their heads to look for the owner of that voice.

"What?" Will asked, sounding a tad bewildered.

"Jackstraws. We should play it again." Percy explained, though that wasn't an explanation at all.

"Why?" Nico asked, and Percy shrugged.

How could he seem so unbothered?

If he was talking about jackstraws, he must have definitely heard, so how come he wasn't looking around, wasn't going crazy, wasn't making glasses with liquid explode out of nowhere, as he had done at lunch?

"It's a cool game. We could use a pack of Pocky for it, again. That was fun, right?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at them, and Nico frowned at that explanation, which wasn't really an explanation at all.

(Not to mention that he was now wondering whether Percy was trying to remind him of that Pocky kiss with Will or not.)

The confusion must have shown on his face (though, in his defense, Jason and Will looked as bewildered as he did), because Percy let out a small laugh, which sounded weird, given that they had just heard…that.

"Guys, stop looking at me as if I just declared I'm a party pony. Don't listen to them. I know I did at lunch, and I realized for myself it was stupid to do so. What do they know? _I_ know I love you guys, and I hope you know I do, and that's all that matters, isn't it? I mean, sure, we could show off, could imitate what we had done back in the park, could show them nobody is getting left out in any way, even if they might think so. We could get all affectionate and overly touchy-feely, but seriously, what good would that do? I want to kiss and make out with you because that's what _we_ wanna do, not because we want to prove anything." Percy explained, and Nico's eyebrows shot up.

That…was surprisingly reasonable, for Percy.

Nico knew he was smart, of course, and it did sound like something Percy would say, he just wouldn't have expected him to say all that _now_ , right after hearing _those_ things.

He'd have expected Percy to be more upset, to decide to act before anything else, to snap at people and…well, drench people in their drinks, as he had done at lunch.

But this…well, Percy _did_ have a point, he guessed.

"That contradicts my wish to show you guys off and let everybody know you're _mine_ , though." Will remarked drily, and Nico snorted.

 _True that_.

He wanted to do the same…wait, Will wanted to do that, too?

Eh, the more you knew.

"I think we all want to do that, Freckles. But Percy is right. We shouldn't let them get to us. Give it some time, and they'll realize by themselves they're wrong. Now, do you guys want to leave?" Jason asked, the tension in his shoulders disappearing as he settled back down where he had sat before.

"No. Let's stay." Nico replied instantly.

Maybe he wanted to keep the guys to himself, maybe he wanted to get somewhere more private, maybe he wanted to have his peace from all these people and the noise.

But more than that…

"Really?" Will asked, sounding surprised as he eyed him from the side, and Nico knew he must have felt Nico's discomfort earlier.

"Your siblings are doing so much to make us feel comfortable, and to show others to just get over it and accept it. If we just leave, it feels like we're not appreciating that whatsoever, as if we don't care about all the effort they're pouring into it. Personally, I'd like to stay. Let's just tune out the voices and enjoy ourselves." He explained, and Jason smiled at him softly, while Percy and Will glanced around at the Apollo kids, which currently had their heads together and seemed to be debating what to play next.

Sure, they were a loud, nosy, and more often than not rather obnoxious bunch, but Nico did like them.

Plus, they really were making an effort, and Nico knew it was especially for Will's sake, to offer him the support they had before been unable to give.

Nico would be able to deal with another hour or so of the noise and people, as long as his guys were right here with him.

Percy leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek, the same moment Will moved to do the same on his other side, and Nico found himself grinning automatically, glancing from one to the other.

"I kissed him first." Percy instantly huffed.

"I _saw_ him first." Will retorted with a crooked grin.

"I love you both." Nico ended the argument before it started, and a fluttery feeling surged through him, both anxious yet wonderfully warm, because, even if a part of him still feared rejection and drama, another, now bigger part of him, knew it was okay.

They were okay.

For the first time in forever.

"And I love you guys, too." Jason said softly, wrapping his arms around Nico and tugging him onto his lap, which Nico didn't mind one bit, either.

"Are we really going to exchange sappy I-love-you-s now?" Will huffed, and Percy poked his side with a snort.

"You know you love it, babe."

Will shot him a wry look, then grinned and moved to sit beside Jason, patting his lap for Percy to come over.

"Yes, I do. I love you – now come here, so I can wrap my arms around you and warm you. I can feel your body temperature dropping from over here, and I'm not risking us all catching a cold because of you, especially not when it's about to get warmer outside." Will replied, and Nico shared an amused look with Jason, knowing full well Will just really wanted to get his hands on him.

Percy didn't seem to mind either way, happily moving over and flopping down on Will's lap, looking as if Christmas had come several months early.

He was so adorable.

Will looked similarly elated as he wrapped his arms around Percy and pushed his face into Percy's back for a moment, looking a bit like a cat nuzzling its head against its object of affection.

He was adorable, too.

They were all adorable.

Nico loved his boyfriends.

He smiled to himself, leaning back into Jason's embrace with his eyes closed as he enjoyed their presence, blocking out all other noise except for the soft, slow song the Apollo cabin was playing.

He had never heard that song before, but it sounded beautiful, and even though he barely heard what they were actually singing, the melody alone was enough to make him relax, to make him nuzzle his face against the side of Jason's face, to make him reach out for Percy's hand.

Yes, this was good.

More than good.

Who cared what others thought, anyways?


	4. Chapter 4: A First Time

**A/N:** Hey there Cupcakes :D

Here comes the next chapter ;)

As a warning, it's...mostly smut, really.

My apologies~  
(I'm not actually sorry.)  
(Sorry.)

A big thank you for all the lovely reviews/comments I've received so far! I'm glad you're enjoying this fanfic so far ;)  
(It's certainly fun to write.)  
(It also helps denying there's bad stuff coming later.)

Also, as always, special thanks to my amazing beta-reader(s) :3 You're the bestest!

Hope you enjoy it,  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 04: A First Time**

One week passed way too quickly.

Will pondered that as he had his arms and legs wrapped around Percy from behind, who was half sitting, half lying on the bed, the laptop on his lap, and Will's chin resting on the top of his head.

Yeah, one week passed _way_ too quickly.

What if the next week would pass this quickly, too?

Will didn't want it to.

He wanted to feel as if he had forever with his guys.

But when time flew by this quickly, it only made it all the more obvious just how _little_ time he had.

Percy clicked around aimlessly, looking at the pictures Sally had sent them after Will and Percy had finally managed to actually set up an email-account (though it was sad it had taken them this long to realize they hadn't done that before already).

It wasn't all baby pictures yet, but a good portion of it, and Will had been absolutely right with his assumption Nico and Jason would love them.

He had also been right about them constantly changing the wallpaper of their desktop.

While Percy kept going back to change it to a picture of all four of them, Nico absolutely adored the picture of a baby Percy in what looked like a fish costume, and Will would change it to a picture of a toddler Percy at the beach, whereas Jason would keep switching it to a slideshow of a variety of baby pictures and new pictures.

All in all, it was fun to watch.

Percy clicking around while trying to look grumpy was fun to watch, too.

"You're so adorable." He said and kissed the top of Percy's head when his boyfriend huffed indignantly at one of the pictures showing him holding up his shovel as if it was a mighty weapon (maybe a trident?), a determined expression on his face.

"You mean I _was_ adorable. Why did she have to send these? She's my mom, why would she embarrass me like this?" Percy wailed dramatically, burying his face in his hands again and snuggling back into his hold, which made Will press another kiss to the top of his head.

"You _are_ adorable. Always were, probably always will be. Plus, I clearly remembering seeing that very expression on your face when you tried to beat Jason during sword practice two days ago. Remember? It was right before he pushed you against the wall and started kissing you senseless and you ended up-…" He started, and Percy wailed, sinking further down into the mattress with his head now almost in Will's lap.

He'd say he was sorry Percy had moved, because he had kind of been rather comfortable, but at the same time…he certainly didn't mind this, either.

"Whatever. She still didn't need to send those." Percy pouted, and Will rolled his eyes, stroking through Percy's hair and glancing towards Jason for a moment, who was at the small and rather cramped desk, checking his notes, though he had looked up at Will's words and shot him a small grin.

"I'm glad she did. How is it embarrassing, anyways? I know _I'd_ be glad if I had any pictures from my childhood." Will remarked, and Percy stilled for a moment.

"Same." Jason called over, and Will was pretty sure if Nico wasn't taking a shower at the moment, he'd chime in, too.

Percy sighed in defeat.

"Okay, I guess I don't mind that we get _pictures_. But…did it have to be _those_?" He asked, gesturing at the folder.

Will smiled, tugging on some strands of hair.

"What, would you have preferred the bathroom shots? Sally already showed me those, and if you already think _these_ are embarrassing, you don't want to know how adorable you looked when you got into a bathtub." He replied, and Percy wailed again, nudging the laptop off his lap to curl into a ball slightly, his head still in Will's lap.

Will chuckled and stroked through his hair again.

"It's still not fair." Percy mumbled after a moment of silence, and Will's lips twitched.

Life was never fair.

"Yeah, you got it so bad, don't you? But hey, I got it worse. I'm in desperate need for some affection and kisses, you know? And Jason is _so_ far away…" He lamented right back, and Percy instantly perked up.

"Why does it have to be _Jason_ to give you affection and kisses?" His boyfriend asked, sounding and looking skeptical, and Will had to bite the inside of his cheek for a moment to keep himself from grinning.

"Well, he's not busy _whining_."

Percy's mouth fell open as if he couldn't believe Will would say something like that, and the next moment, he was already pushing himself up and coming closer.

"I'm not whining! Well, maybe a little, but if you want, I can still…" He started, and Will rolled his eyes as he cupped Percy's face and drew him closer.

"Shut up and kiss me." Was all he said, before pushing their lips together, himself.

Jason chuckled quietly, and Will could hear him getting up and moving over, but then Percy distracted him by humming against his lips and tilting his head, practically inviting Will to deepen their kiss.

Not one to disappoint, Will immediately did, nudging Percy's lips apart to let their tongues play, while his hands roamed over Percy's already naked upper body.

Bless this guy for already having taken his shower.

Curse him for putting his boxer shorts back on, though.

Seriously, they slept naked more often than not these days, anyways, why did Percy always put his underwear back on until they were 'in bed'?

Percy pushed against him, enough to show how much he was into this, but not enough to actually make Will feel as if he was trying to push him down.

So Will pushed him down, instead, only glancing around quickly to assess where the laptop and Jason were, before his Percy was on his back in the sheets, his hands in Will's hair to keep him close, while Will's hands seemed to be everywhere again.

"You two seem to be having fun." A new voice – Nico's voice – remarked as he came out of the bathroom, and Will half wanted to glance around at him to check whether _he_ was wearing anything.

But he could already hear by the sound of fabric that he was, so he instead kept Percy from turning his head by continuing his French kiss and grabbing hold of his sides the moment Percy worked his legs around him (finally).

(Percy still had troubles with working out how and where to move his legs whenever things got heated. Seriously, Nico should have pushed him down more often. Will certainly would have.)

"Oh, they are. It's about time, too. They've shared so many wistful glances throughout the day, I'm surprised they lasted this long without being all over each other." Jason remarked next to them as he took the laptop and put it away, since they hadn't even really been using it, _anyways_ , only waiting for Nico to get done with his shower.

Hey.

They totally _hadn't_ shared _any_ 'wistful glances'!

Will wanted to pull back and complain, but this time, Percy didn't let him, instead wrapping his arms tightly around his head and moaning against his lips, while trying to move his hips upwards.

He smirked, his hands moving from his sides to his butt, squeezing it wantonly as he pushed their groins together.

Percy promptly broke away from him to moan loudly, the sound like music to Will's ears.

Nico sat down next to them on the bed, and Will heard him drawing a sharp breath, which made him glance around for a moment.

But Nico seemed perfectly alright, looking disheveled and wet and biting his lip so adorably, so _hopefully_.

Did he want to be included?

Will could certainly do that.

He grabbed hold of Percy's legs to wrap them around him properly, then moved his hands back to his backside, wondering how much longer they'd play like this before the day came Percy would actually _let_ him do anything.

Of course, Will knew he _could_ try and take things further anytime, but he really wanted Percy to _tell_ him when he was ready.

Not to mention, Will was beginning to feel as if _Jason_ wanted to be the one to get that far with Percy, first.

He hadn't said anything of the sort yet, but…well, Will was getting this sort of vibe from him, anyways.

Then again, he couldn't blame him one bit, because Percy's butt was pure sin, all soft and squishy and wonderful, perfect to play with, perfect to rub one's erection against, perfect to daydream about burying said erection _inside_.

This time, it was Will moaning, and he decided he should stop this before things _did_ escalate.

Percy made a small, needy sound when Will pulled back, but let him go, anyways, and Will lost his breath all over again as he looked down at those dark and dazed sea-green eyes blazing up at him in want and lust and need.

It took all of Will's willpower to resist leaning down and claiming those swollen lips as his all over again.

Instead, he let his hands move up and down Percy's sides appreciatively, an undoubtedly dirty grin spreading on his face.

"You're so hot beneath me, Gorgeous."

Percy was still panting, but smirked right back at him, his hands reaching out to touch Will's arms, to keep him there.

"Says the one burning up on top of me." He retorted, and Will winked at him.

They both knew he loved it.

"You're stopping already?" Nico asked, sounding the tiniest bit…was that a hint of _disappointment_ in his voice?

Will turned to look at him in question, and Nico hurriedly averted his gaze, fidgeting with one of his earrings.

He seemed oddly nervous.

Will frowned slightly, then shrugged.

"Guess so? Unless Percy wants me to continue?" He wiggled his eyebrows at Percy, resisting the urge to grab his butt as he pulled back properly.

Percy's pupils were still blown so wide, though.

Just the sight made Will's mouth water all over again.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind." Percy replied very helpfully, while also pushing himself back up into a sitting position, and Will wanted to tell him to lay right back down.

"How…how…how is it going to work out…I mean…" Nico started hesitantly, and Will was distracted by him fidgeting so much again.

What was wrong with him?

Hadn't they had this talk before, anyways?

"I thought we'd figure that out as we go?" Jason put in, though it sounded more like a question than a statement, and Will watched Nico's jaw clenching for a moment, his expression one between embarrassment and annoyance, which was deeply confusing.

He almost looked as if he wanted to say 'I know that'.

But if he did, then why would he…ask…

Will blinked, then studied Nico once more, wondering faintly if this was his way of…

Nico's gaze flickered to his for the fraction of a second, then the Italian blushed and looked away again, tugging on his earring as if it held all the answers.

Will raised an eyebrow, his heart now beating in his throat.

Was this Nico's way of asking _when_ they would take things further?

Was this maybe even his way of trying to hint at him _wanting_ to take things further?

 _Now_?

Will bit his lip, then glanced towards Percy one last time before moving closer to Nico, whose blush promptly deepened.

"Would you want us to try it out?" Will asked, trying not to sound too breathless or excited, just in case he was wrong.

Percy drew a sharp breath behind him, while Will caught Jason making a face that said 'How did I not think of this?' out of the corners of his eyes.

But his main focus was Nico, who had his lips pursed and was staring down at his lap, now back to fiddling with his skull ring.

He didn't reply.

Will reached out to touch Nico's thigh gently, and the Italian flinched slightly, though he didn't move away.

Instead, he opened his mouth as if to speak, though he then closed it again.

He tried again, and Will stroked over his thigh, inching closer while Percy and Jason seemed to be holding their breaths.

Sure, they had sort of given each other more or less sloppy handjobs the past week every here and there, and if Piper hadn't shown up at their cabin door to pick Percy and Nico up to make sure they actually got to their lessons in time, he'd have so gotten away with giving Percy a blowjob, but…this was new.

Absolutely new.

Jason had tried to talk about boundaries once, but since both Will and Nico had been unwilling to really contribute to the conversation, they had agreed to have that talk another time, not when they were more or less asleep in bed already.

They had agreed plenty of times now that they'd _probably_ have more one-on-one action at first, to get more comfortable with each other first, before attempting an actual orgy sort of thing with everybody included.

Though Will had already known back then they were all itching to give it a try.

It was just…

Their relationship was so new, so _different_ from anything they knew, anything they'd heard about.

There were no guidelines, no real rules or some sort of schedule they could follow, nobody they could really go to (or wanted to go to) for advice.

They had to make it work as they went.

It made sense to first try and get more comfortable with each other, that was where their naked cuddling had come from, too.

But at the same time, curiosity and the knowledge that they all _wanted_ to be with each other like that was just too great.

Will _wanted_ to know how it would all play out, _wanted_ to have all four of them included in their actual 'first time'.

He still remembered all too vividly how amazing it had felt when Jason had gone down on him, with Percy and Nico to his left and right, right there with him, not exactly 'participating', but sort of taking part, anyways.

He wanted them to feel the same way, too.

Wanted them to realize how amazing that felt.

Wanted to be the one to make them feel so amazing, too.

But this wasn't just a blowjob or joined handjobs they were talking about.

Nico was sitting here, basically asking for _penetrative_ sex.

Actual. Freaking. _Sex_.

Will had to swallow hard just thinking about it.

Gods, he wanted it so badly.

Wanted them to try, wanted them to make it work, wanted to know how it would feel like, how _they_ would feel about it.

Wanted to know how they felt like.

Their emotions, their reactions, all of that.

But how would it work out?

Maybe they _should_ stick to one-on-one action, and the other two just watched, just for the first few times…

"I just…I want to know how…" Nico started, and Will blinked surprised, not really having expected him to speak up for real.

He shifted closer, kissing Nico's naked and damp shoulder gently, his hand still stroking over his thigh.

"I want to know…" Nico repeated, and Will started kissing along his shoulder to his neck, then up to his jaw.

"Me too." He said softly, and Nico shivered, leaning into him ever so slightly as his eyes fell shut.

It must have taken him so much courage to speak up about this.

Now, the length of his shower made more sense, too.

"Guys?" Will asked, before he kissed the corner of Nico's lips, which twitched into the faintest smile for a second.

" _Yes_." Percy and Jason instantly agreed, sounding as breathless as Will felt.

He smirked, then moved his free hand through Nico's rather wet hair, tilting his head slightly to give him a better kissing angle, his lips already seeking out Nico's bottom lip to tease and tug on.

The tension left Nico's shoulders almost immediately, and he let his lips part for Will, meeting him in an amazingly gentle and alluring, open-mouthed kiss.

Gods, yes.

Were they seriously going to do this?

Nico turned his body towards Will, his hands finding Will's face, his shoulders, his sides, pulling him closer to show he could push him down the same way he had pushed Percy down.

Oh yes, they were going to do this.

Will found himself gasping involuntarily, but didn't push him down, instead moving them both until he could pull Nico onto his lap, their lips only parting to find each other again no second later, their tongues pushing in and out of each other's mouths insistently.

His hands moved up Nico's back, pulling him against him tightly before his fingers found the back of his neck, teasing and pressing against his skin in just the right way to make Nico gasp and moan softly, shivers running down his back.

Gods, _yes_.

"How do you want to do this, Nico?" He asked against his lips, feeling the need to ask, knowing he had to ask, even though everything inside him screamed to ravish him on the spot.

This was for _them_ , not just for Will.

"I have no idea." Nico immediately shot back, though the fact he pressed his lips against Will's no second later showed he very well knew he wanted Will in one way or another.

"Guys?" Will asked, wondering where the hell they were, anyways.

Alright, he knew _where_ they were, but _why weren't they getting over here_?!

"What do you want me to do?" Jason asked, while Percy merely panted, already seeming perfectly content just watching them.

Oh great, wait, was Jason asking him to actually _tell him what to do_?

Actually…

Actually, Will could do that.

"Get behind Nico." He said, and Nico gasped against his lips, his heart beating wildly in his chest, excitement and nervousness and curiosity rushing through him just like the lust and want and need that were so much like Will's.

Oh gods, they were going to do this.

They were dating for two weeks, and they were going to have sex with Nico.

More sex than usual.

Penetrative sex.

Will hadn't even gotten to _finger_ him yet!

Wait, he hadn't even fingered him.

None of them had.

Well, _Percy_ had, but that had been before _their_ time, so that didn't count right now.

Nico needed better preparation if he wanted to bottom for any of them tonight.

Will went through his options as he kissed his way to Nico's neck, while Jason moved closer from behind Nico and started kissing along the other side, his hands timid as they stroked over Nico's sides and Will's hand.

He could feel the curiosity and uncertainty rushing through the blonde, and made sure to shoot him a reassuring grin the moment their eyes met, before both of them returned to their jobs of ravishing Nico's neck.

Nico gasped and groaned, letting his head tip back to expose more of his neck, and Will immediately went for his throat, kissing and licking and even daring to nip on it ever so gently, whereas Jason settled for sucking a hickey onto the side of his neck.

Both seemed to make Nico moan, so they continued, and Will could feel Jason getting a tad more confident.

Good.

He waited until Jason shifted closer by himself and moved his legs around both of them, then Will pulled back slightly to move _downwards_.

Jason immediately picked up on it, moving his hands to Nico's shoulders to make him fall back against him slightly, giving Will better access to his chest.

"May I?" He asked, deciding to voice out his request, since Nico still had his eyes closed, and the Italian nodded vigorously without even knowing what Will was talking about.

Will's lips twitched, then he wrapped them around Nico's nipple, giving it a tentative lick and feeling the jolt of pleasure ripping through Nico even before Nico had the chance to moan in reply.

Oh, he liked that so much.

Will used to like that, too.

He gazed up at Nico's face, working his nipple with his tongue and lips and the faintest hint of teeth, and Nico started shaking in his lap, now half on Jason's, his lips permanently parted to let out small gasps and moans, his eyes still closed.

"Look at me, Nico." Will whispered as he switched nipples, and Nico instantly did, his dark brown eyes dark and seductive and full of lust and love as he gazed down at Will, panting breathlessly.

The sight took his breath away, making him gasp against his skin more than anything else, though he caught himself no moment later, his eyes hushing to Jason to make sure he wasn't feeling left out or anything.

But Jason had his eyes closed and was still raking lips, teeth and tongue over Nico's neck and shoulders, then the back of his neck, which had Nico letting his head fall forwards with a groan.

Will felt something hot and hard brush against his hand as he moved it back towards Nico's thigh, and he had to bite his lip not to glance down.

Not yet.

He nipped at Nico's nipple ever so faintly, and Nico gasped, arching his back to push against him, and Will's resolution went right out the window.

"Can I touch you?" He managed to press out, his voice husky and breathless, and Nico nodded vigorously again.

"Yes! Yes, please, _please_!"

Oh _gods_.

Will moaned against his skin, his hand immediately making for Nico's boxer shorts and slipping inside, wrapping around that magnificent dick he had been daydreaming about ever since that so, so rushed handjob he had given him all that time ago.

Oh gods, _yes_.

Nico let out a long, drawn-out moan, and Will could feel his dick twitching in his hands, hot and hard and leaking pre-cum already.

Gods, they were so going to do this.

Will stroked him with forcefully slow movements, while Jason now shot Will a reassuring look, his hands running up and down Nico's sides.

"Nico, turn your head." Will ordered, and Nico immediately did, and Jason only had the time to blink at him in surprise once, before Nico already blindly searched and found his lips in a needy, breathless, messy kiss.

Will loved watching them kiss.

Especially when things got messy like that.

He found himself making a small, appreciative sound that reminded him of a purr, and immediately stopped, instead continuing on his way down Nico's chest to his stomach to his lower stomach to the waistband of his boxer shorts.

Usually, he'd take his time ravishing each and every spot on Nico's body, giving him the best freaking foreplay he could have ever wished for.

But Nico was already leaking pre-cum, was already thrusting into his hand needily, was already so far gone Will didn't want to unnecessarily tease him.

It had taken Nico so much to speak up, Will wasn't going to ruin it for him with making him cum before he actually got what he wanted.

He pulled away from Nico completely, then worked on getting Nico to raise his hips, so he could pull his boxer shorts down and off, giving free that wonderful, beautiful dick.

Will was going to _die_ if he didn't get to blow him.

Let Jason do the penetrating, he wanted that dick in his mouth, end of the story.

Actually, that was a _great_ idea.

Now, where the hell was Percy?

Alright, Will knew _where_ he was, but _why was he not here_?!

He forced himself to look away from Nico's dick and towards Percy, but Percy was still in his same spot, watching transfixed with his mouth hanging open and his eyes darker than Will had ever seen them.

The moment he noticed Will looking, though, he immediately shook his head and made a shooing motion, as if telling him to go on.

What was he _doing_?!

Will wished he could voice out that question.

Instead, he decided to give Percy another moment to come to his senses, and glanced back up at Nico, who looked so wonderfully far gone, Will wanted to imprint the image to his very being forever and ever more.

"Can I blow you?" He forced himself to ask, because he wasn't going to do anything without explicit consent, and Nico nodded his head again.

"I need you to say it." Will breathed, nearly _begged_ , as he already moved closer ever so slowly, his breath ghosting over Nico's dick.

"Yes! Please, Will, just do it!" Nico gasped almost immediately, and Will wrapped his lips around the tip of his dick.

Nico _mewled_ , his hands shooting up and around and everywhere, yet not touching anything, as if he was looking for something invisible to hold onto.

He ended up burying them in his own hair, letting his head and body fall backwards into Jason's embrace, and Jason held him effortlessly, trailing gentle kisses along his cheek, neck and shoulder to give him a moment to catch himself again, to enjoy Will's ministrations, to not overstimulate him immediately.

Will wanted to purr again, but resisted that (rather disturbing?) urge, instead sucking on the tip ever so faintly and swiping his tongue over the slit, before letting go to trail wet, sloppy, open-mouthed kisses along his shaft.

"I love your dick." He mumbled, unable to help himself, and Jason chuckled ever so faintly, while Nico moaned softly, still holding onto his own hair.

"I love you." The Italian replied weakly, and Will closed his eyes and hummed automatically, which promptly made Nico gasp and shiver and moan.

Will shivered, too, pushing his upper body further down to get a better angle as his tongue and lips moved over Nico's dick insistently, keen on exploring and finding each and every single thing Nico enjoyed.

"He likes the faintest hint of teeth." Percy pointed out breathlessly from his spot next to him, and Will immediately went to try it, luring a low groan out of Nico, closely followed by a needy whine.

Gods, he _did_ like that.

Will absolutely hated any hint of teeth on his dick, he'd have never had the idea to try that out on Nico.

"Get over here, Percy." He ordered instead of saying thanks, and caught Jason smirking out of the corners of his eyes.

"Jason, touch Nico the way I did earlier." He added, and Jason immediately went to comply, showing just how much attention he had paid to Will's doings.

If he really got to be Percy's first, he was going to make a splendid lover.

Not that Will hadn't already known, but still.

Percy moved closer, looking uncertain and hesitant, but Will merely grabbed him by the waistband of his boxer shorts and pulled him over.

"I…if you three want to-…" Percy started, and Will realized why Percy had tried to stay away.

 _Idiot_.

"No. Kiss Nico and give Jason a hand." He cut in, and heard Percy gasp softly, before moving to capture his boyfriend's lips, who was so far gone by now he didn't seem to care who was doing what, simply moaning and letting Jason hold him as he met Percy's lips in a messy, breathless kiss.

Will smirked, then moved to wrap his lips back around the tip of his dick, promptly making him gasp loudly and jerk his hips forward, though Jason thankfully managed to keep him in place.

He was pretty sure he wasn't ready yet to let Nico (nor anybody else) take control like that.

Will started bobbing his head up and down, his gaze hushing back up to Percy and Nico, who were having messy, open-mouthed kisses that Will barely managed to see, though he was glad Nico now had his hands in Percy's hair instead of his own, giving him a much better hold on everything, especially himself.

Plus, Percy absolutely loved it when they tugged on his hair.

"G-Guys…!" Nico pressed out when Will started to move further down on his dick, testing out how far he could go, just to then decide to deepthroat him on a whim, the temptation too great.

Sadly, he couldn't direct the guys when he was busy letting Nico's dick slide in and out of his throat.

"Lube." He called out as he pulled back once, then moved back down until his nose was at Nico's pubic bone, drawing a loud, long, low groan from the Italian, his head now permanently tipped back against Jason's shoulder, who was currently playing with his nipple with one hand, his other hand still firmly on Nico's hip to keep him from thrusting forward.

It took him a moment to realize Percy had pulled away and was rummaging in their nightstand.

"Condom?" He heard him asking, and wanted to nod, but then decided to simply hold up his thumb, sucking on Nico's dick for another one of those drawn-out moans.

Gods, this was amazing.

Will knew he could drive Nico over the edge, knew exactly what he'd have to do to make him orgasm right here, right now, but he resisted the temptation, knowing how the four of them wanted to take it _past_ this blowjob.

So he pulled back and let go of his dick, instead reaching out for the lube Percy was holding out to him, ignoring the condom.

"Give that to Jason."

"Me?" Jason asked, sounding perplexed, but Will merely nodded as he fiddled with the bottle.

Nico was still a panting, gasping mess, his face turned towards Jason so his nose was buried at the crook of his neck, his body laid out for them to take.

It was a beautiful sight, one that Will wanted to engrave to his mind, too.

"Nico?" He asked, his voice raspy and as breathless as they all seemed to be.

"Sì?" Nico's voice was weak and a mere whisper against Jason's skin, and Will wondered whether he might not have overdone it a little bit with his blowjob.

"Do you still want more? Or do you want to keep going with just this?" He asked, but Nico shook his head, apparently trying to get his bearings again.

"No, please…I want to…" He started, then bit his lip, gazing at Will with an expression that should be _illegal_.

Then again, even if it was, there was nothing anybody could do against it.

Will was also pretty sure he didn't _want_ anybody to do anything against it.

In fact, he wanted to see that expression _more often_.

"I'm going to finger you, is that okay?" He asked, hoping he was understanding Nico's reply correctly.

His assumptions confirmed when Nico nodded weakly, shifting slightly in Jason's hold, as if uncertain how Will wanted him to move.

Will didn't want him to move at all.

Well, better said, he didn't care how Nico moved, he'd make it work any and every way.

"Yes?" Will asked, and Percy threw him an odd look, as if only now noticing Will wanted _verbal_ consent.

"Yes! Puoi fare quello che vuoi!" Nico replied almost desperately, hiding his face at Jason's neck again with a blush spreading on his face once more.

Will blinked.

Didn't that mean something along the lines of 'You can do what you want'?

Plus, _damn_ , Nico speaking Italian when things got sexual was certainly something Will wanted to witness more often.

Judging by the way Percy's expression changed and became hungry and wanting, he was feeling the same way.

Will moved, motioning for Jason to keep Nico in their current position, though he did need more space to not have his arms at awkward angles as he moved them around Nico, squeezing some lube onto his fingers.

"Cold." He warned, and Nico shivered even before Will touched him in any way.

"I know." Nico whispered, and Will bit back the 'Smartass' that wanted to escape him.

Not now.

Maybe next time.

Now, he had to get over the fact he was going to finger Nico di Angelo.

How many times had he dreamed about this?

(Which totally wasn't creepy, nope.)

Gods, he was seriously going to…

He glanced up at Percy and Jason, and found them both watching, transfixed, though neither of them were really able to _see_ anything.

They didn't seem to mind.

Neither the fact it was Will who got to finger Nico, nor the fact they couldn't even see him doing so properly.

Will stroked over Nico's backside with his lube-free hand, feeling him shiver and tense ever so faintly, his skin hot and soft and smooth and, _gods_ , Will wanted to do so many things his head was whirling again.

"Percy, lend me a hand." He said, and Percy instantly moved to comply, grabbing hold of Nico's butt for him to give him easier access.

Then, his lubed finger nudged against Nico's hole, and the Italian gasped, stilling entirely.

"Relax, babe. I'm going to be gentle." Will said quietly, though he knew Nico knew, and he knew he couldn't help it.

The excitement, as well as the embarrassment was welling up in him again, probably at being so exposed to the three of them, while they were all still wearing their boxer shorts.

"Guys, get undressed. Percy, help Jason out." He ordered, still stroking over Nico's hole, waiting for him to relax enough to proceed.

Neither of the guys asked why he wasn't getting naked, instead moving to do as he said, and he instantly missed Percy's hands on Nico.

He was the sort of person that used _a lot_ of lube, but he also didn't like getting it anywhere but where he wanted it, and by the way Nico started shifting slightly, he didn't, either.

Will pressed a kiss to his hip bone, then blinked and wondered what the hell he was even doing.

There was a perfect way to make Nico relax again.

Jason pulled his legs away, and Will rearranged himself between Nico's spread legs, pressing open mouthed kisses to his dick again.

Nico jumped slightly, before letting out a long, soft moan.

"You like that, babe?" He asked with a smirk, and Nico nodded weakly, gazing down at him with dark eyes again.

"I'm gonna make you feel so good, Nico. Want to know what I'm going to do?" He asked, and Nico shivered, everything inside him screaming 'Yes!'.

Will had almost forgotten Nico had a thing for dirty talking.

See? They were practically made for each other.

"What?" Nico asked breathlessly, his eyes falling shut again, and Will smirked, placing another kiss to the tip of his dick, before moving up Nico's body to his ear, whispering just _what_ he was going to do, and what _Jason_ was going to do.

Nico gasped, and Will's finger slid inside almost effortlessly as he gave a tentative push.

 _Yes_.

"W-Will!" Nico huffed, his hands shooting up to hold onto Will, and he buried his nose at Nico's neck as he started moving his finger in and out of the Italian, trying to get a feel of him.

First of all, he was tight, but that was to be expected.

Second of all: _Hot_.

Jason was going to love that.

"That's right, moan for me, babe." He muttered quietly as Nico started moaning softly, and his eyes tried to glimpse Jason and Percy, who were sitting right next to them and watched with dilated pupils and parted lips, their dicks hard and leaking.

What a sight.

Will beckoned them over, then moved his hand back to hold Nico open properly, his finger still pushing in and out of him tentatively.

Then he pulled out to put more lube on his hand.

Nico immediately whimpered.

A part of Will still couldn't believe this was happening.

This was…gods, there were no words for it.

He had troubles with the bottle again, but then Nico surprised him and made to take it, opening it for him.

Will wanted to raise an eyebrow in question, but refrained when he saw the dark blush on Nico's cheeks, instead gratefully accepting the help.

This time, his finger was accepted immediately, and the fact that Jason started kissing the side of Nico's neck again timidly, while Percy stroked over _Will's_ back hesitantly, certainly helped both of them to loosen up slightly.

He worked his finger in and out of him again, then started wiggling it around a bit, testing out how well he could move without causing Nico any sort of discomfort.

"You…you don't need to be _that_ gentle, Will…" Nico started awkwardly, but Will shook his head.

He considered saying something, but then decided against it, instead taking his time adding more lube and a second finger.

No, he _had_ to be that gentle.

At least for their first time.

Will knew how much this could hurt, how much pain just one wrong move could put Nico through, just how _easily_ he could hurt Nico.

He wasn't going to do any of that.

He also wasn't going to do half-assed work and thus cause pain and/or discomfort for Nico when Jason took over.

Jason was bigger than Percy, even if not by much, and Nico might or might not be sensitive to the difference.

Will wasn't going to take any chances, and he wasn't going to put Nico through any sort of pain if he could help it.

And gods, could he help it.

He started scissoring Nico, always watching out his fingers were lubed up enough, his lips now back to pressing gentle kisses to Nico's skin, while Jason was still nibbling on the other side of his neck, and Percy was panting against Will's ear, though there was no way he could _see_.

The only thing he might be able to see was the way Will moved his arms.

But again, Percy didn't seem to mind one bit.

"Kiss Nico." He told him, and Percy had the audacity to huff before he went to comply with a smirk, moaning against Nico's lips when Nico all but lunged at him with a lot more enthusiasm and energy than they had expected.

Will smirked, then continued on his work.

Two fingers became three, working Nico open and teasing his prostate every single time Percy tried to pull away from the kiss, leading to Nico jumping with a frantic gasp, which of course promptly lured Percy right back.

Did Will enjoy teasing them both? Yes, yes he did.

"If you don't stop that, I'm going to-…" Nico suddenly exclaimed, and Will had to bite the insides of his cheeks not to laugh or grin.

Meh, fine.

"Jason, are you ready?" He asked, and Jason looked at him with wide eyes and a disturbingly innocent expression or the occasion.

"Are you sure?" Jason asked right back, and Will wondered how the world had ever deserved this guy.

"Do you want to?"

Jason's eyes glazed over slightly, and he nodded, letting out a weak and breathless 'Yes!', that was so contradictive to Jason's usually calm, collected and leader-like behavior, Will absolutely loved it.

"Then I'm sure. Nico, are you sure?"

"By all the gods, _yes_!" Nico exclaimed, though whether that was in reply to his question or the fact he had just thrust his fingers against his prostate, he wasn't entirely sure.

Well, only one way to find out.

"You want Jason to push into you? Want to feel his big dick slide in and out of you, filling you up and making you cry out in pleasure and bliss? Want to feel him-…"

"Yes, yes, _yes_!" Nico interrupted him with a drawn out moan, and this time he was certain he meant his words, because he had already pulled out his fingers.

Jason moaned, too, looking as if he was going to blow even before he got the chance to do any of the things Will had just said.

"Percy, help him with the condom. Nico, what position do you prefer? Want to stay this way? Want me to blow you again? Want Percy to blow you? We'll do anything you want." He said softly, and Percy immediately moved to help Jason, who, in his nervousness, grabbed hold of Percy and pulled him into a wild and desperate kiss.

What was he doing? Kissing some courage into himself?

Well, Percy seemed to love that idea.

Seriously, those two.

"I…I…I don't know. I…can I…I mean…w-what about you two…?" Nico asked hesitantly, but Will only smiled at him in reassurance.

"We'll be fine, babe. First, we want to make sure you're feeling good. So, what will make you feel good? Do you want to kiss us? Touch us? Want us to touch you? Want Percy to touch you? You name it, babe." Will replied, and Nico looked at him with that wonderfully dazed look again.

Then, he shivered, and tried to push back against Will's hand, which was still resting on his butt.

"A-Anything works…"

Why wasn't Will surprised?

He started kneading his cheeks automatically, and Nico let out a soft moan.

"Want me to touch you? Stroke you while Jason is pushing into you? Want me to wrap my mouth around your dick and let my tongue play around your tip until you come? Want Percy to kiss you senseless? Want him to touch you in places only he knows you like, and feel just how much he loves this, loves us, loves you?" He asked, and Nico groaned and let his head fall back, nodding wildly.

"Yes, please! Anything! Everything!"

Yeah, Will had thought so.

He glanced sideways at the guys, and found both of them immediately moving over as if called.

"Lean forward, babe. I got you." He told Nico, and the Italian did as he was told, while Jason took a deep breath and got back into his former place behind Nico, his hands settling on his sides hesitantly.

Will shot him a reassuring look, though he moved to stroke up and down his arms, too, just to make sure Jason in fact _did_ want this and was just nervous, not actually uncomfortable.

Gods, yes, Jason wanted it, okay.

It was nothing compared to the utmost _need_ inside Nico, though.

Damn, how long had Nico been wanting this?

How come Will hadn't caught onto that?

It was a mystery.

"Percy, can you…" He started, and Percy instantly caught on, picking up the lube from where Will had dropped it and helping Jason lube up, while Will massaged Nico's butt again to keep him from tensing up or anything.

Now, he _really_ couldn't believe they were doing this.

They were having _sex_.

With _Nico_.

Jason was going to have his first time right then and there, and they were helping him, and they'd be _there_ , too.

He closed his eyes and moaned against Nico's neck softly, and nimble fingers stroked over his lower stomach to the waistband of his boxer shorts, as if the Italian really thought he'd have enough control over himself to give him a handjob.

Will appreciated the gesture, anyways, pressing his lips against his skin as Jason started moving, shooting him a last look that seemed to say 'Are you _really_ sure you want _me_ to do this?'.

He merely nodded reassuringly, and Jason nodded back numbly, before swallowing hard and looking back at Nico with that odd uncertainty again, as if he was scared of hurting him.

He probably was.

Will clicked his tongue, and Jason's gaze instantly hushed back to him, but instead of speaking right away, Will merely moved Nico back onto Jason's lap slowly, while leaning past him to press his lips onto Jason's.

The blonde returned the kiss almost immediately, pouring all his uncertainty and excitement into the kiss, which made Will smile to himself and tilt his head further.

"You'll do just fine." He whispered against his lips, and felt Percy moving to help Jason guide his dick inside Nico, who seemed to have regained enough composure to begin moving, himself, shamelessly rubbing against Jason's dick and gasping and moaning softly.

Gods, yes.

It had been a splendid idea to do this.

To try it.

To go further.

They should have done this ages ago, really.

Jason moaned, and Will didn't have to look to know he was slowly pushing into Nico, the pleasure and bliss surging through him – _them_ – already enough of an indicator.

He had known Jason would love that.

Then again, who wouldn't?

Percy hissed, but Will knew it was because he liked what he saw, not because he was jealous or upset or anything else negative.

Nico mewled, bucking his hips to push back against Jason, but Will's hands shot to his hips to stop him, making him _whimper_.

Jason momentarily stiffened, breaking away from Will to look at Nico, and Will shook his head to show he wasn't hurting him.

"You're doing so good." He said, though he wasn't sure whether he meant Nico or Jason.

In a way, he meant both of them, really.

Nico made a needy sound in the back of his throat, while Jason closed his eyes and let his head tip back with another soft moan, his hands now replacing Will's on Nico's hips as he started pushing into him more and more, making the Italian moan and groan and gasp.

Gods, this was amazing.

Will had never thought there'd be the day he helped Jason and Nico having sex, much less _enjoy_ helping them, but here they were, and it was all Will had ever wanted, all he'd ever want, to watch their dazed, blissed out expressions, hear those sweet and wonderful sounds, feel their bodies trembling and the lust and love and pleasure and euphoria rushing through them.

Gods, _yes_.

Will waited until Jason tugged Nico completely away from him to test out how to best move, smiling to himself as he watched his blonde bury his face at Nico's neck with another weak moan and a few very light kisses.

Then, he grasped Nico's chin to make him look at him, before pushing their lips together.

"You're liking this, babe?" He asked as Nico gasped against his lips, and they started another open-mouthed, dazed kiss.

All Nico replied with was a desperate 'Nnnghh!' sound that would also be forever engraved in Will's mind, and which he took as affirmation.

"Jason wants to make you feel so good. Help him with the moving, okay?" He said softly, and Nico nodded weakly, urging his legs to cooperate as he tried to push himself up and down on Jason's dick, making the blonde groan and his glasses slide off his face.

Percy caught them and put them back on with a twitch of his lips, then he shot Will a questioning look, as if waiting for further directions.

Will was feeling a little too overwhelmed right now to reply, though, so he instead motioned for him to do as he pleased, while trying to focus on sliding down Nico's body again to get to that dick he had been promised.

He'd worry about making Nico blow before those two could completely enjoy the experience, but he could already sense just how close Jason was by merely pushing inside Nico, so he was certain nobody would care who came when, because chances were the other would follow almost immediately.

Plus, since they were both absolutely loving it so far, Will was confident they'd do this _again_.

His lips pressed against Nico's slit, his tongue darting out to wipe away the pre-cum, and Nico gasped and jerked back, causing Jason to thrust into him a tad harder than before, and if Nico's needy moan was anything to go by, he certainly liked _that_.

Will smiled to himself and wrapped his mouth around the tip of his dick, giving it a gentle suck before bobbing his head up and down carefully.

It was a weird angle – one he didn't necessarily like, but one he could work with, all the same – and he pushed his upper body further down again, hoping Percy wasn't going to make fun of how ridiculous he had to look, with his butt up in the air like that and all.

But Percy didn't look as if he even noticed, raking his eyes up and down Will's body with a dark, lusty gaze, before turning towards Nico and kissing him senseless without a warning (not that Nico minded, he blindly kissed back immediately, after all).

"Guys…guys…Jason…Will…Percy…Jason…Percy…Will… _guys_ …" Nico started chanting, and Percy glanced down at Will for a moment before wreaking havoc on Nico's neck, only adding to the already dark red marks on it.

Will gave him a nudge to signal he had to take over the talking, but Percy didn't seem to know just what to say, because he merely started chanting back 'I love you'-s.

So adorable.

How could they be so adorable, while also being so hot?

Will didn't understand.

All he knew was that he loved them.

And he never wanted this to end.

...

Percy watched dazedly how Nico, his Nico, was practically bouncing up and down on Jason's lap, both he and Jason looking absolutely _gone_ , while Will was busy giving what looked like the wettest, yet also hottest blowjob Percy had ever seen.

How did he deserve these guys?

He faintly remembered once thinking he would never want to see his Nico with anybody else.

He had been wrong.

This was fine.

More than fine.

Percy _loved_ it.

And they seemed to love it even more.

Gods, Nico's _face_.

Not to mention _Jason's_.

The guy looked as if this was his first-…oh wait, it was.

Oh gods.

This was just…

Percy had no words.

He kept whispering meek 'I love you'-s, because that was all that was swimming around in his mind, those words, over and over again, to the three of them.

Gods, yes, he loved them.

His dick was painfully hard, but just watching _them_ like _this_ was already more than he could have ever wished for.

Just as he thought that, Will's hand stroked over his thigh and grabbed hold of his dick, giving it a tentative tug, before beginning to stroke, and Percy had to pull away from Nico's collarbone to _moan_.

What was Will _doing_?!

He should just concentrate on…

" _Aah_ …" He gasped softly, letting his head drop onto Nico's shoulder weakly as he moved his legs to give Will easier access, glancing down at the blonde.

Will was now looking more at him than at Nico, his lips still wrapped around Nico's dick, and by the looks of it, he was sucking on the tip.

For some reason, the knowledge made Percy's dick twitch, imagining how that would feel if Will did it on _him_ , instead.

Then he wondered how Will would react if Percy was the one sucking on Will's dick.

 _Gods_.

Percy closed his eyes, knowing he so wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing, which was kissing Nico and making him feel good.

Just…another moment…a minute…to catch his breath…yes…

Percy moaned again, and Nico mewled, his hands in Percy's hair to steady himself, and Percy decided to use that as his excuse for keeping his head on his shoulder, needing the support, himself.

Will gazed up at both of them with those beautiful eyes of his, his hand still stroking Percy's dick with _just_ the right amount of pressure.

Gods, it wasn't _fair_.

Percy wished he could seriously be upset, but in his opinion, this whole moment was too perfect to ever get upset over something so unimportant and trivial.

He lifted his head to glance at Jason, just to find the blond threading his fingers through his hair and pulling him closer to crash their lips together in a wild, frantic kiss, while Nico was still bouncing up and down on his dick, the sweetest sounds escaping his lips.

He felt movement, then Nico mewled, and he realized Will must have pulled away.

Uncertainty shot through him, a momentary panic that they had overdone it, that Nico had pushed into Will's mouth too much by accident, had somehow triggered him, but when he looked around, he was suddenly assaulted by a wild Will Solace, his lips not even fully parted before Will's were already on his.

How was he deserving _that_?

"Nico, give Jason some more love. Jason, go wild, he loves it. Percy, let me touch you." Will rasped, his voice hoarse and cracking towards the end, and Percy shivered as his arms wrapped around his boyfriend, pulling him closer and mashing their lips together once more.

He could hear Nico and Jason moving, heard the sound of skin on skin contact, heard the drawn-out, low groan from both Jason and Nico as Jason reentered him, heard his Italian whispering a series of words in what seemed to be Italian, heard Jason moan in reply.

Felt the bed bouncing once more.

Gods, this was so weird, but so, so _good_.

Will moaned against his lips, and it took Percy a moment to realize Will was touching _himself_ , next to stroking Percy.

"Let me help?" He asked, his voice a mere whisper, but Will could hear him just fine, nodding in reply as he tugged his boxer shorts down at last.

Was it sad that Percy had been waiting for this very moment?

If so, he didn't care, instead moving his hand to join Will's, his legs moving to somewhat wrap around Will, so they could be closer.

"Want me to blow you, too?" Will asked against his lips, but Percy shook his head, knowing he wasn't going to last much longer as it was, though he dearly hoped Will would offer this again another day.

"Want me to?" Percy asked back, and now Will shook his head, his lips twitching into a smile before he parted them to allow their tongues to touch again, surprisingly _slow_ compared to all their doings so far.

The bed rocked, and there was a mewl next to them, followed by a low growl and the sound of a body hitting the bed, and they both turned their heads to find Nico on his back, and Jason on top of him, thrusting into him with a surprisingly controlled-seeming speed, both of them completely falling apart, by the looks (and sounds) of it.

Gods, this was so…so…

There still weren't any words to describe this.

Will's breath hitched and his hand faltered in its rhythm on Percy's dick, so he nudged it away and guided Will's arms around his neck, instead.

"Let me?" He asked, and Will nodded meekly, for once not picking a fight, and Percy tugged him closer by his sides before wrapping his hand around both of their dicks.

"It's too dark outside, I usually have more…" Will mumbled, but Percy kissed away his words.

Will didn't need any excuses with him.

Anything and everything was okay, as long as Will wanted it that way.

"I'm not going to last much longer. How about you?" He asked, and Will's lips twitched, before he let out a startled gasp when Percy's thumb stroked over his tip.

"S-Same. Guys?" Will asked weakly, shaking in Percy's arms as if he was holding back.

Knowing how loud Will usually was, Percy knew he _was_ holding back.

They turned their heads just as Nico let out a loud, drawn-out moan, throwing his head back as his hands pulled on Jason's hair sharply, who had his face at the side of Nico's neck and was still thrusting into him like a madman, though Percy noticed his movements were now wild and frantic.

Then Jason, too, let out a low groan, and Percy was reminded of the one time he had witnessed Jason and Will giving each other handjobs in bed behind them.

Were they…had they just…?

Will distracted him from the questions buzzing in his head by burying his hands in Percy's hair and pulling him in for another kiss, his hips jerking against Percy as if to tell him to get a move on.

Fine, fine.

Percy smirked against his lips, which made Will promptly bite his bottom lip to let him know he knew full well what he was doing, so Percy hurried to please him, his hand picking up in speed and pressure on both of their dicks.

Had he mentioned this was weird?

Because it was.

But in all the best ways.

"Percy…" Will panted, and Percy loved the way his name sounded with that breathless, beautiful voice.

"Yes, sun-bug?" He panted back, and Will's hands tugged on his hair a tad harder, their lips pressing against each other insistently three more times before Will managed to speak again.

"I don't want to come first." The blonde lamented, and Percy couldn't help but snort, pulling away from Will's lips to kiss down his neck once he noticed it was practically unmarred.

"Then you'll be pleased to know I'm about to blow." He remarked drily, though it came out husky and weird, and Will shivered in reply, a soft gasp escaping his lips again.

Percy wanted him to let out those noises he was still reining in.

He loved Will's noises.

The moans, the gasps, the cries of pleasure.

He wanted to be able to lure all of those out of Will.

"Sure you don't want me to give you a blowjob?" He asked again, and Will replied by moaning loudly and jerking his hips again, which Percy decided to interpret as Will liking that idea much more than he might have let on.

"Next time, Gorgeous. I am _so_ close, it's not even funny. Don't stop. _Please_ tell me you're about to…I can't tell, it's all a mess, I can sense _their_ orgasms, Percy… _Percy_ …" Will gasped, the words barely distinguishable from one another, and it took a moment for Percy to catch on to what he was even saying.

But even then, it didn't make all that much sense.

Percy decided to think about his words later, rather focusing on moving his thumb over Will's tip again, his teeth and tongue moving over the sensitive skin at his neck, before daring to get closer to his ear.

Will clawed his back and gasped, pushing their bodies together so he was on Percy's lap, much like how Nico had just been on Jason's.

Their dicks rubbed together, squished between them and still in Percy's firm grip, and he wished he had thought of grabbing the lube before he had offered Will to take over.

Since Will had used almost half a bottle on Nico, he was pretty sure his blonde would have greatly preferred some lubrication, himself.

Percy's hand picked up its pace, and his lips found Will's earlobe, trying to imitate what he had seen Jason do before, with gently tugging on it.

He really had no idea how this could be as enjoyable to Will as it seemed to be.

If anything, he wondered if his breath against Will's ear wasn't actually super annoying and uncomfortable to the blonde.

But Will seemed to love it, gasping and letting a louder moan slip, spurring Percy on to continue his ministrations.

"Percy…" Will rasped, his voice cracking, his fingernails still clawing Percy's back, which he actually sort of liked, and Percy had to control himself not to grin, instead nibbling ever so timidly along the shell of his ear.

So sensitive.

"I'm close." He notified Will, and his blonde nodded his head vigorously, another loud and breathless gasp escaping him.

"Please don't hold back, sun-bug." Percy added, _really_ wanting to hear those luscious sounds of his.

"I…I don't want…it's…I'm so _loud_ , Percy…" Will whispered against his skin, and for a moment, he wanted to pull back to look at him, but Will held him tightly pressed against him, his face hidden from view.

"I know. I love it. Please?" He pressed out, momentarily letting go of his own dick as to not blow right _now_ , instead focusing on Will's tip again.

Shivers ran down Will's back, and he let out a drawn-out, dazed moan, before his fingernails dragged over Percy's back, making him gasp and close his eyes in bliss at the light pain, his dick twitching ominously even without him touching it.

He nipped at Will's ear, and Will rewarded him with a much louder gasp, followed by a small cry and his nails digging deeper into Percy's skin.

 _Yes_.

Percy's hand wrapped around both their dicks again, his other arm adjusting Will's position so they were both comfortable.

Then he started stroking them again, his lips staying at Will's ear as he closed his eyes and focused on the pleasure washing over him at each and every stroke, as well as at each and every reaction from Will.

He was getting louder, too.

 _Perfect_.

Percy picked up his pace, and Will clutched him for dear life now, their bodies hot and sweaty and pressed together as if they were trying to fuse, but Percy loved it.

All of it.

Most of all, he loved Will.

The way he held onto him.

The way he had his legs wrapped tightly around him.

The way his nails dug into his skin.

The way he panted against Percy's skin.

The way he gasped and groaned and cried out.

"I love you." Percy gasped against his ear before nipping on his earlobe, and Will let out what almost sounded like a choked sob, then he shivered and jolted and _came_ , his dick pulsing in Percy's hands as he cried out his orgasm.

Percy shivered, letting his head drop onto Will's shoulder with a small whimper and a groan as he felt his own orgasm wash over him, seeing nothing but stars for a moment.

Or maybe they weren't stars, but Will's freckles, he couldn't tell.

Will clung to him, and he clung to Will, and they were both panting, were both gasping, were both crying out softly as he stroked them through their orgasms, were both pulling away at the same time to meet each other's lips in a dazed, lazy kiss that only added to the blissful haze settling over Percy.

"I love you." He repeated, his lips curling into a blissed out smile, and he watched rather pleased how it took Will a moment to open his eyes again, looking at him with those wondrous bright blue eyes – though his pupils were still so dilated, there was barely any of the blue visible.

Percy found he didn't mind whatsoever.

Will hummed, then moved to place a peck on his nose, before dragging his lips over Percy's skin to his lips for another kiss.

"Love you, too." His blonde mumbled, then hummed again, and Percy felt an odd sense of pride rushing through him at the realization that _he_ had rendered Will to this.

Granted, a lot had led up to this, but he had been the one to make him cum.

"Hey there, you two. You enjoyed that?" Jason's voice sounded from next to them, and they both turned their heads slowly, just as Jason sat down on the bed, a wet cloth in his hand.

Oh.

Percy glanced down, taking note of the mess they had made, though he couldn't find it in him to care.

He never did, to be honest.

It was a miracle they had spared the sheets, but even if, Nico had enough clean sheets to replace these, should the need arise.

He grumbled when Jason nudged his arm so he could get that cloth between them, already knowing it would feel cold, even if Jason had used warm water.

Everything would feel cold compared to the heat still rolling off Will.

He wanted to point that out to Jason, maybe complain a little bit, but then Jason pressed his lips to Percy's, and he guessed it wasn't all _that_ bad.

At least until he actually felt the cloth and pulled away from Jason to grumble again.

 _Cold_.

Jason chuckled, giving him a kiss on the cheek with an apologetic look, before tending to Will, who had watched them with a dazed and curious expression, though he hissed the moment the (cold) wet cloth made contact with his skin.

"I'll use warmer water next time." Jason soothed them both, and Will and Percy made a noise that hopefully conveyed 'You better', though they both pulled Jason in by his shoulders to give him matching kisses on his cheeks, making him chortle.

Aww, he _chortled_.

How adorable was that?

He looked so happy, too.

Blissed out.

Percy grinned, watching his blonde a moment longer, before dragging his eyes to his other blonde.

He looked blissed out, too.

Percy turned to search for Nico, and found him sitting to their other side with a faraway, dazed and absolutely _pleased_ look on his face, his cheeks rosy, his hair a mess, and the Christmas blanket wrapped around him to cover himself.

Always so shy.

Percy grinned at him, and Nico blinked lazily at him once, before a slow, lazy grin spread on his face, too.

"Hey." Percy greeted, the same way they had done so many times before, and Nico's grin only widened, before he pushed himself forward to crawl over to them, only stopping when he was half on their laps, his lips finding Percy's.

"Hey." He whispered back, and they both shared a few light kisses, before Nico turned to kiss Will, who gazed at them both with such a warm and affectionate expression it made Percy want to cry for inexplicable reasons.

He didn't, instead reaching out without looking to grab Jason's arm and keeping him from leaving, tugging him right back to them.

That cloth could wait.

Now was post-orgasmic cuddle time.

Jason complied, moving closer to Percy and nuzzling his face against Percy's neck, giving him a series of light kisses that felt absolutely wonderful.

In fact, he had to try that out, too.

He tried to lean forward to do the same on Will's neck, but then realized the fault in his plan as it made Jason _stop_ , and he didn't want him to.

So he fell back against him, noticing he seemed to intend to wrap his legs around him from behind.

Fine by Percy.

Everything was fine by Percy.

Nico climbed between him and Will, and they started wrapping their arms around each other somewhat, enough to convey they wanted to be close, but not enough to actually become exhausting or difficult.

Too lazy for that.

"You liked that?" He asked Nico, and his Italian huffed out a small breath, his cheeks turning the teensiest bit darker, but he still looked rather pleased.

"You have to ask?"

Percy would have tried to act aghast, but that prove to be too much work, so he merely grinned.

"Nah. Looked as if you had plenty of fun."

Nico made an affirmative noise, and Percy's grin widened a bit, before he let his head tip back to fall against Jason's shoulder, gazing sideways at him.

"How about you? 'twas your first time, wasn't it?"

Was he slurring his words slightly? Apparently.

Jason smiled at him, merely seeming amused by it, so Percy didn't care.

"Yeah."

Wow, so many words.

Percy snorted, then looked towards Will, who had his chin on Nico's shoulder and his eyes half-closed, though he met Percy's gaze immediately.

"Don't even ask, you dork. Next time, I'm going to blow you, just you wait." Will remarked, his voice cracking so wonderfully, it made Percy shiver, just like his words did.

His grin widened again.

Next time.

There would be a next time.

Oh, he sure loved the thought of _that_.

He wanted to tell them, wanted to confirm it all over again, wanted to point out just how much he loved them, wanted to argue with Will that _he_ would blow _Will_ next time, not the other way around.

Instead, he merely closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto Jason's shoulder again, who showered him in the gentlest kisses again.

"Same." He mumbled, and Nico let out a soft sigh, kissing his jaw and dropping against him slightly, too.

"I love you guys." The Italian whispered, and Will and Percy hummed in agreement, before exchanging soft 'I love you'-s, as well, uncaring how sappy it may sound.

Jason wrapped his arms around all three of them, squeezing them tightly for a moment, his face at Percy's neck, though he could swear he could feel the blonde grinning broadly.

"And I love you guys the most!" He insisted, and Percy snorted doubtfully, though he found himself grinning, anyways, same as Nico and Will grinned.

Yeah, right.

Percy loved them the most, okay?

"Bed?" Will suggested, and Nico replied by grabbing hold of Percy and Jason and unceremoniously throwing them sideways into the sheets with him, with Will being tugged along automatically, causing all four of them to giggle.

Had he mentioned he loved them?

Because he absolutely did.

Gods, he loved them so much.

...

Nico wished he could purr, leaning into Will's gentle massage on his back.

That felt so _nice_.

Then again, earlier had also felt…okay, that had felt better than just nice.

It had been _amazing_.

He had half expected to fall asleep right away once they had actually gotten comfortable in bed, but somehow, they hadn't been able to stop giggling, hadn't been able to stop being all cuddly and affectionate, hadn't been able to stop giving each other gentle touches and even gentler kisses, and now, an hour later, they were still very much awake.

Well, except Will, who seemed to be half-asleep, though he didn't let that deter him from massaging Nico, apparently.

He had been so amazing earlier, too, navigating everything.

Nico knew once the haze from his orgasm would wear off completely, he'd be more than just embarrassed of the whole thing, especially since he hadn't exactly _done_ anything except laying himself out for them to ravish.

Gods, he had loved it, though.

The guys had been so wonderful.

And Jason…

Nico closed his eyes, a giddy smile spreading on his lips as he thought back to Jason's first so timid touches, and how they had soon changed, become more confident, ending with Jason giving Nico all he could have ever wished for.

Gods, he still couldn't completely believe it.

Jason and he had…

While Will and Percy had been right there…

And Nico had loved it.

Every single second of it.

From the moment Will had kissed him senseless and sank down between his legs to give him that absolutely amazing blowjob, to the moment Jason had pushed inside him for the first time, to the moment when he had turned around in Jason's arms and they had kissed and nipped at each other's necks and stroked and touched and explored each other, before Nico had guided Jason's dick back inside him, unable to help himself, unable to resist any longer, unable to bear the sudden feeling of emptiness rushing through him.

To the moment Jason had grabbed hold of his hips, moving them up and down on his dick for him at a much quicker and rougher speed that had made Nico see stars.

To the moment he had let himself fall back and Jason had gone right along with him, wrapping Nico's legs around him as he pushed into him more and more and more and _oh_ , it had been _amazing_!

Percy's and Will's sounds next to them had only amplified everything, too.

Gods, he wanted that again.

Had to have that again.

Nico never thought he'd feel this way.

In a way, he had feared that he'd back out of it all, that he'd panic, that he'd look at Percy and feel guilty if he was enjoying anything the other two did, that he'd feel as if he was cheating.

Not to mention that he was absolutely certain he'd make an absolute idiot of himself.

But none of that had happened.

Will had been amazing, kissing and distracting him, not making fun of him once for practically asking for an orgy, not even pointing out how quickly Nico had gotten hard.

He had been gentle, careful, touching Nico as if he had wanted nothing but all his life, and then his lips had been on Nico's dick, and his brain had practically waved goodbye.

He hadn't even found it in him to be embarrassed, instead letting Will do as he pleased, instead leaning back into Jason immediately, instead kissing whoever came close enough for kisses.

Everything had felt so great.

He had felt so dazed and swept away by their doings, he hadn't even stopped once to wonder whether this was wrong.

Whether he should even enjoy that.

Whether he should show how much he enjoyed it.

Not once.

Though Nico was pretty sure that, even if those thoughts had come, he'd have brushed them off immediately.

How could something be wrong when it had felt so right?

How could he possibly not enjoy it, when they had done those things just for him to enjoy?

How could he _not_ show how much he enjoyed it when it had been one of the best things in his life?

Will's hands moved lower, stroking and kneading and massaging, and Nico moaned softly, opening his eyes again to find Jason and Percy gazing at him with gentle, affectionate expressions.

They had been so amazing.

Nico wasn't sure how many times he'd think that tonight, but he couldn't help it.

It was simply the truth.

Will shuffled closer, his lips pressing against the back of Nico's neck, and the next moment, he could feel his hands moving _lower_ , cupping Nico's butt.

He felt his face heating, and caught Jason and Percy shooting each other knowing, dirty grins, but couldn't find it in himself to say anything.

Will had been so _gentle_ with him earlier.

He had done so much to make sure Nico was enjoying himself, and…

It hadn't hurt.

It hadn't even felt uncomfortable.

Percy had always been careful and had always made sure he was ready, and Nico had always enjoyed it, but with Will, it hadn't just started feeling great, it had felt great from the very beginning on.

Maybe it had been the lube.

Or maybe it had simply been Nico's nerves.

He didn't know.

All he knew was that that had been the best first time with his guys he could have ever wished for.

So much better than his dreams.

Gods, yes.

His dreams had been _nothing_ in comparison to this.

Will started kneading his butt, and Nico found his eyes falling shut again, hoping against hope Percy and Jason didn't notice anything.

Then again, even if they did, they probably wouldn't even say anything.

They were amazing like that.

Had Nico mentioned they were amazing?

Will kissed the back of his neck again, then moved his face to be right next to Nico's, kissing his neck, while his hands were still on Nico's butt.

"You like that?" The blonde asked, and Nico opened his eyes again to check whether Jason and Percy were looking.

They were, looking amused.

He huffed, closing his eyes again and pushing back into Will's hands without reply.

Will chuckled against his neck, his hands giving him an affectionate squeeze that felt disturbingly nice.

"You know, we should probably go to sleep." Percy said quietly, and Nico pried one eye open.

Hey, he was getting his butt massaged here, there was no way he wanted them to go to bed _now_.

Wait…

Damn, good thing he hadn't said that out loud.

"No way. I only just got my hands on Nico's backside, you can bet your pretty faces I'm not going to let go of it for the next some hours. In fact, only death shall come between me and this butt." Will exclaimed behind him, emphasizing his words with another squeeze that made Nico's face flush and his heart skip a beat.

Seriously, _Will_!

Did he always have to say stuff like that?

Percy snorted.

"A bit dramatic, don't you think?" He remarked drily, and Will huffed indignantly.

"Well, can you blame him? It _is_ a very nice backside." Jason put in with a small smile, and Nico wished Will had allowed him to tug the Christmas blanket over them.

Then he could hide beneath it now.

 _Seriously_!

"It's Nico's backside, of course it's nice. Have you felt it? Gods, so nice and soft, with skin like silk. Pure sin, I'm telling you." Will started raving behind him, and Nico wished he could sink into the ground and disappear from view.

 _Oh gods._

"I know." Jason replied, a rather wistful grin spreading on his face, and Nico just knew he was thinking of earlier.

The realization didn't help his blush whatsoever.

Ah, there was the embarrassment he had been lacking so far.

"Percy has a nice butt too, you know?" He pointed out meekly, mainly to get the focus away from him – then he wondered what the hell he had just said.

Percy blinked surprised, then his ears suddenly turned scarlet, while Will chuckled with a 'Oh wow, Nico…', and Jason grinned and shifted closer from behind Percy, shooting him a rather teasing look.

"You hear that, Percy? You have a nice butt, he says." Jason seemed to purr, and Nico watched with widening eyes how Jason's hands disappeared from view.

Percy was still staring at Nico, looking as if he couldn't make up his mind between 'I feel flattered' and 'What the hell have you done, Nico? Why?'.

Then, his entire face suddenly flushed scarlet, and Nico felt both amused and guilty.

" _J-Jason_! What do you think you're doing?!" Percy exclaimed rather breathlessly, and Nico's eyebrows shot up at the slight stammer in his words.

Will behind him laughed and buried his face at the back of Nico's neck, his breath feeling hot and weird against Nico's skin, though it wasn't unpleasant.

"Verifying Nico's statement. Yep, I can confirm. You _do_ have a very nice butt. Very soft and squishy." Jason replied, utterly unfazed, and Nico had to bite his lip as to not laugh out loud at the look of utter indignity on Percy's face.

"Did you just call my butt _squishy_?"

Will snorted out a laugh behind Nico, and Nico felt his own body trembling with the strain to resist joining in.

Oh gods.

"Yes. Very squishy." Jason repeated with a serious nod, then the teasing smirk was back, and Percy managed to glare at him for a total of one second, before he jumped slightly and let out a small moan, hurriedly turning his face away from Jason to hide the now more _dazed_ than annoyed look on his face.

 _Oh?_

" _Somebody_ seems to like your ministrations, Handsome." Will remarked, his face suddenly next to Nico again, and Nico inwardly agreed.

Jason's grin only widened, and he nuzzled his face against Percy's neck, even though Percy looked anywhere but at him, huffing indignantly to himself – though he didn't argue Will's statement whatsoever.

"I'd hope so. Seriously, _so squishy_."

"Stop calling my butt 'squishy'!" Percy lamented, burying his face in his hands with a wail, and Jason cackled as he moved to lean over Percy.

"But I love it? Squish, squish, squishy."

Percy wailed and waved his hands in Jason's face as if to shoo him away without looking, but Jason wasn't deterred, moving closer to blow a raspberry on Percy's neck, making him gasp and giggle and wail even more.

Those two.

Nico watched with a smile how Jason started peppering Percy's neck with butterfly kisses, making him blush down to his collarbones, though he still wailed and even rolled onto his stomach to 'get away', even if he then didn't move in the slightest when Jason gave him more than enough time to flee, before he hoisted himself up and sat down on Percy's thighs.

He still showered him in kisses, first his neck and the side of his face that Percy couldn't manage to hide in the pillow fast enough, then his shoulders and shoulder blades, then down his back.

Percy stopped his wailing purely because he was too busy giggling in the most adorable way Nico had ever witnessed in his life.

 _These two_.

He exchanged a glance with Will, who still chuckled and now put his chin on Nico's shoulder to watch better, one hand maneuvering itself under and around Nico, while the other one stroked down his side and gave his butt another affectionate squeeze.

"They're so precious, aren't they?" Will whispered, and Nico nodded, watching how Percy _acted_ as if he wanted to get Jason to stop, while his expression was between flustered and giddy, his eyes falling shut more and more often the lower Jason went, his kisses still luring giggles and curses and little gasps out of Percy.

Then, Jason reached his lower back, and the giggles were replaced by more gasps, and more curses.

"Feisty." Will remarked quietly, and Nico shot him a telling look, the two of them still grinning to themselves.

Jason flashed them a grin, looking rather out of breath and seductive, in a way.

He looked sort of wild, so unlike his composed self, and it occurred to Nico that he only ever saw this side of Jason when he was around Percy.

Therefore, Percy always switched between overly competitive to surprisingly submissive whenever he was around Jason.

It was interesting to watch.

"Squishy." Jason stated, and Percy looked around, mouth already open to argue, but then Jason already peppered his skin with kisses again – then moved down to cover said butt in kisses, too, which instantly made Percy close his mouth again as his head snapped around to bury his face back in the pillow with a loud and drawn-out wail, his ears glowing dark red.

Aww.

"You're impossible! The audacity! The impudence! I'm going to tell my mother you're mistreating me, Jason! I'll tell her, you mark my words! Seriously, you horrible human being! I can so see why Will calls you that, he's absolutely right, you're _the worst_!" Percy ranted weakly into the pillow, and Nico raised his eyebrows, shooting Will a look, who looked ready to die from laughter.

Nico looked back at Jason, and found him looking up at Percy almost _fondly_ , though Percy sadly couldn't see.

He could see it, though, and the sight and knowledge made him feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, happy for these two dorks.

Even if they didn't seem to yet know what to make of each other, it was obvious how much they adored the other.

Jason's expression changed to a teasing smirk, then he leaned down and…

Percy yelped in surprise, quickly followed by a low groan, his face now seriously _red_ , and he pushed his upper body up slightly to look around at Jason with a mixture of disbelief and shock.

"You just _bit my butt_!"

Nico couldn't help it, he laughed, and Will laughed right along with him, the two of them holding each other tightly as they tried to contain themselves, their visions becoming slightly blurry.

Jason's grin widened, and he looked up at Percy like a wolf at a bunny, dark and predatory, but maybe a lot more seductive and wanting.

"Yeah, and I'll do it again."

" _Jason!_ "

Gods, those two.

Nico loved them.

He loved all three of them.

But, seriously, _those two_.

...

Jason smiled, stroking through Nico's hair slowly as he watched him sleep, his face so relaxed and beautiful.

He always looked so at peace when he slept.

Percy grumbled behind Nico, then turned around and wrapped his arms around the Italian, making Nico huff indignantly in his sleep, wiggling himself out of Percy's hold no minute later again.

"You should be sleeping, you know?" Will remarked behind him, and Jason sighed, turning his head to look behind him at his third boyfriend.

"I could say the same about you." He replied quietly, and Will's lips twitched, before he rolled his eyes and tried to look serious again.

His serious face lasted a whole of five seconds, then he started giggling quietly, a grin spreading on his face as he shifted closer.

Jason grinned back, turning around to wrap his arms around him, burying his face in his hair.

"I can't believe we really did that…" Will whispered, and Jason stroked through his hair with one hand, his other hand stroking up and down his back.

Yeah…

Jason couldn't quite believe it yet, either…

Seriously…that had been…wow.

Just. _Wow_.

He had known it would feel good, but he had had no idea it would feel quite like _that_.

Jason tugged Will closer, his grin only widening.

"Thank you, Will." He whispered back, and he meant it.

To be honest, he had thought Will would be the one to go all the way with Nico first, especially since he had been in love with him the longest, and had been telling them hundreds and thousands of times how badly he wanted to go further with the Italian.

It would have been just fine by Jason, too.

But instead, Jason had had his first time with Nico.

It had been their very first 'orgy' – if one didn't count his rather rushed blowjob with Will, when Percy and Nico had sort of helped – and Jason had had his first time with Nico.

Amazing.

It had felt amazing.

Nico had felt amazing.

Jason could totally see why Percy had always seemed so overjoyed at the prospect of having sex with Nico.

Seriously, Jason would have been the same way.

He still remembered that morning on the train, when Percy had looked so absolutely pleased, letting it slip he had only slept, like, what, an hour? Two hours?

Jason probably wouldn't have slept at all.

He wasn't even sure he'd sleep tonight.

Oh, he was tired, undoubtedly so, but at the same time, he was still too excited, too giddy, too euphoric about their first time together, to possibly sleep.

"What are you thanking me for, you dork? Make no mistake, I did that solely for myself. You have no idea how long I've wanted to go down on him. Gods, wait until you get to blow him, Jason. Best thing ever." Will raved, and Jason chuckled, kissing the top of his head.

"I bet. Still, thank you. I really wasn't expecting that."

Will huffed, then moved so he could look up at him, bright blue eyes practically blazing in the dim light of Nico's jar.

"As long as you enjoyed it."

"I loved it." Jason admitted, and Will's lips twitched, before he gave him a gentle peck.

"Good. Now, next time, maybe we'll switch and then you'll know what I'm talking about – then again, now that I think about it, you're not all that much into giving head, are you? Percy is. Gods, Percy _loves_ it. Have you felt how he gets when he-…of course you haven't. Sorry, my bad." Will rambled, and Jason's eyebrows shot up as he studied his boyfriend as he trailed off, his eyes glazing over slightly as if lost in a rather pleasant memory.

So, Percy liked giving blowjobs?

Interesting.

"I don't mind, actually." He said quietly, but Will shook his head.

"Oh, I know. Trust me, I wouldn't have let you anywhere near my dick if you had had something against it."

Jason didn't doubt that whatsoever.

He seriously didn't mind, though.

It was a bit weird, and he still wasn't sure what to think of swallowing, but he loved the way Will had reacted and seemingly enjoyed it both times Jason had been allowed to blow him.

So there was that.

"Still, thank you." He said quietly, and Will smiled again, all warm and affectionate and beautiful, giving him a kiss on the nose.

"Stop thanking me, Jason. If anything, you should thank Nico. I don't think we'd have actually gone through with any of this, especially not tonight, if Nico hadn't spoken up."

That was true.

Jason had been so surprised, though at the same time he had felt as if he really shouldn't have been.

Seriously, how had he not realized what Nico had been playing at?

But it was okay.

Will had caught on for the three of them, so all was well.

"Probably not. But I'm glad we did. It was amazing." He replied quietly, and Will's lips twitched.

He probably would have even chuckled, if it wasn't for the fact that Percy and Nico were asleep behind Jason.

"You really loved that, huh? Told you you'd make a great top."

Jason hesitated for a moment, then resumed the stroking of Will's back.

"I was mostly winging it, to be honest. Nico did most of the work, and you know it." He replied at last.

A part of him wanted to point out that, while he had loved it, he was absolutely certain he wouldn't mind bottoming one bit, either, and that he'd have been absolutely fine with _not_ getting to top.

But Will should already know that, should know that, if things had been different, if Jason and Will had been dating without Percy and Nico, Jason would have never urged him to anything, much less forced himself onto him in any sort of way.

Will should know that.

Will gazed up at him with a look that said he did, as if he knew of the words Jason wasn't saying.

His blonde smiled, then gave him another peck before he sighed and snuggled against Jason's chest.

"Yeah, I have to admit that surprised me the tiniest bit. Then again, he always does show he knows what he wants, and when he stops worrying what other people think, he certainly has no qualms _getting_ what he wants, either." Will mused, and Jason hummed, burying his face in Will's hair once more and drawing patterns onto his back.

"I suppose so." He mumbled, still thinking about his first time with the Italian.

Then he thought of Will and Percy, how Will had directed them all, how Percy had tried to stay out of it (that idiot), how they had gotten each other off next to them.

Maybe he should have participated in that somehow, given them a hand or something.

Or at the very least touched them more, in general.

But he had been so caught up in the realization Will wanted _him_ to penetrate Nico, he hadn't been able to think of much else, as sad as it was.

Next time, he'd make sure none of them would be neglected.

Will had done a great job at directing them, but next time, Jason would help him so he could properly enjoy himself, without needing to think of everybody for them.

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then forget it." Will remarked drily, and Jason huffed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Will shuffled and turned his head upwards to look up at him with a stern look.

"Sure you don't. Handsome, we agreed you'd leave the _thinking_ to me."

Wow, how had he seriously figured out what Jason had been thinking about?

How unfair was that?

That couldn't even just be from the whole 'sensing emotions'-thing anymore!

He huffed again, then realized that basically gave him away.

Well, damn.

"I just want you to thoroughly enjoy yourself, Freckles." He replied honestly, and now Will huffed, poking his stomach in apparent disagreement.

"I _did_. I loved it. Stop worrying so much, Jason. Now, let me hold you and smother you in heat until my nightmares will burn us all to shreds."

What a statement.

Jason shot him a wry look, then rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms tighter around the blonde, squishing him against his chest until Will wailed quietly and pinched his side.

"Jason! I said let _me_ smother _you_ , not the other way around!"

Jason cackled quietly, then let him free, pressing his lips against Will's forehead the moment he looked up to glower at him with pink cheeks.

"Of course, love."

Will shot him a skeptical look, then huffed.

"Well, as long as you're not smooching me the way you did with Percy earlier, I guess I shouldn't complain."

Oh, that had been fun.

Jason liked teasing Percy like that.

Plus, he had felt so nice against Jason, and he knew for a fact he had wanted to grab Percy and kiss him senseless countless times during their orgy.

He hadn't yet decided whether what he was feeling for his best bro was really 'love', or just a very abstract form of 'lust', but at the moment, he couldn't find it in him to care.

With more time, the answer would come to him, he was certain.

Though he was also certain he _wanted_ Percy.

Jason thought of Percy's butt, the way he had caught himself thinking of it _a lot_ lately, then thought back to the way it had felt when he had first pushed into Nico.

Then he caught himself wondering how it would feel if…

Alright, this was it, he had to go to sleep.

He was _not_ going to _fantasize_ about _anything_ here.

That was _not_ how he was!

Will chuckled, burying his face back at Jason's chest before giving him a kiss to his collarbone.

"You think too much, Jason. Have I mentioned that?"

Only a few hundred times.

"Maybe. It's just…it gets a bit confusing by times, I guess…" He muttered, and Will chuckled, pressing another kiss to his skin.

"Don't I know it? But hey, I'm sure you'll figure it all out. Until then, there's only one thing I can do, though."

Jason raised his eyebrows again, wondering how Will really just _knew_ , even if Jason hadn't explained his thoughts (or the newly formed, very uncharacteristic _something's_ that always seemed to happen when he thought of Percy for whatever reason ever) to him at all.

"What's that?" He asked, and could feel Will grinning against his skin.

"I shall teach you my ways of pleasing your beloved in all the right ways."

Jason stared at the wall quietly for a moment, wondering why he wasn't even feeling surprised in the slightest.

Then he sighed and kissed the top of Will's head again.

"Why do I have the feeling you're referring to Percy right there?" He asked dubiously, and Will cackled against his skin, confirming his suspicion.

"Oh, because I _am_. I know I should have let you actually touch Nico, too, but I fear I was a bit selfish in that moment…" Will explained, and Jason shook his head.

"I was glad you did all that. You at least knew what you were doing, unlike me." He replied, and Will was silent for a moment, his fingertips drawing patterns onto Jason's skin.

It took Jason another thirty seconds to freeze, realizing in horror what he had just said.

All of Will's 'experience' came from his time with Kyle.

Kyle, who had been an abusive asshole.

Kyle, who had raped him countless times.

There was no way that guy would have let Will touch him the way he had touched Nico today, at least none that Jason could ever imagine.

"I…I'm sorry…" He started, pulling back slightly and feeling disgusted with himself for being so ignorant and careless – but then Will wrapped his arms around him again and tugged him closer, shaking his head.

"Stop being an idiot, Jason. I know what you meant. Geez, one would expect _Percy_ to make a fuss about every single thing he says and does, given that I told him everything in every so little and morbid detail."

Jason still felt horrible.

Will pressed his lips to his collarbone again, then moved up to kiss along the side of Jason's neck, though that only made Jason feel guilty about enjoying that when he had just brought all _that_ up again.

"You're thinking too much, Handsome. I told you to leave the thinking to me. Come on, you enjoyed yourself, right? So did I. You loved it, and I loved it, too, and next time, we'll see what we'll do different, and how that's going to work out for us." Will soothed, and Jason sighed, wondering why people called _him_ the voice of reason, when Will did the job so much better all the time.

There was shuffling behind them, then a low groan, then somebody suddenly wrapped his arms around him from behind, and a face pressing against Jason's back, between his shoulder blades.

Since Nico would never also throw his leg over Jason, and the person seemed almost his size, he identified it as Percy, which meant he must have climbed over Nico (which would explain the groan).

"Mmh, what's going on over here, lovelies? Existential crisis?" Percy hummed against his back, his voice low and drowsy and laced with sleep, and Jason wouldn't be surprised if he in fact _was_ still mostly asleep.

"Jason's thinking too much again." Will explained, and Jason sighed.

Yeah, yeah.

Percy hummed again, then pressed a kiss to Jason's spine, which felt weird.

Though he couldn't say whether that was because of the place, the kiss, or the fact that Percy was the one doing it.

"Yeah, sounds like him. Jason, it's okay, I think a lot, too."

Jason blinked, then found himself smiling automatically, unable to help it.

Bless this guy, seriously.

Percy could be so…well, he could be so Percy-like, sometimes.

There wasn't a term for how Percy was, at least Jason hadn't found it yet, but he was pretty sure if he tried to explain this to Nico or Will, they'd instantly agree with him.

Will chuckled, kissing his neck again, while Percy gave him another kiss to his spine.

Alright, now they were seriously fussing over him too much.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop thinking, then." He relented, and felt both of them smirking against his skin, which made him roll his eyes.

"And because of that, _you_ aren't allowed to exclude yourself in the future, like you tried today, Percy." Jason added, and Percy promptly wailed against his skin.

"Ha! Yeah, that's right, Perce. Show him, Jason." Will agreed, and Jason allowed him to pull out of his hold so they could grin at each other.

"But I wanted to make sure you two get to enjoy yourself with Nico thoroughly! I mean, I've been dating him for all this time already, I thought…I thought…" Percy whined, and Jason wasn't surprised in the slightest that this was his reasoning behind it all.

In fact, he had already known.

By the looks of it, so had Will.

"Yeah, which is why you _both_ should leave the thinking to me, boys. Just _enjoy_ , and let me handle the rest." Will remarked, and Jason huffed.

"Then how are you supposed to thoroughly 'enjoy' _yourself_ , huh?" He pointed out, and Percy clicked his tongue behind him, now seeming much more awake as he lifted his head and rested his chin on Jason's shoulder, though that couldn't be very comfortable.

"Indeed. How about you stop thinking for all of us, too?" Percy chimed in, and Jason rolled onto his back to allow him to get more comfortable, which Percy seemed to appreciate a lot, if the kiss he gave Jason on the cheek no moment later was anything to go by.

"Then who will do the thinking?" Will asked incredulously, and Jason felt them both shifting closer to his sides, so he held out his arms to them.

They settled down to his left and right, with Will moving his arm around Jason's chest, and Percy throwing his leg over him again, and Jason wasn't sure there was any better way to fall asleep than like this.

"Nobody. We'll just do what feels right and forget about logic or reason. Seriously, fuck logic." Percy wisely stated, and Jason's grin widened.

That sounded exactly like something Percy would say.

Nico sighed behind Percy, moving closer to put his arm around Percy, stroking over his side.

"Don't fuck logic, Percy."

And _that_ sounded exactly like something Nico would say.

Will snorted, and Jason could see Percy making a face before grinning to himself, the dim light from Nico's jar illuminating his face rather nicely.

Jason moved his head awkwardly to place a kiss to both Will's and Percy's heads.

"There you heard it. Don't fuck logic, Percy." He remarked, and Percy huffed, pinching his side lightly.

"Shush. I do what I want."

"Undoubtedly. Though I _do_ hope you're only thinking about 'doing' _us_." Will shot back, and Percy snorted.

"Duh. What, don't tell me you're already doubting my faithfulness, sun-bug. I only love you three, so of course I'm only going to want you."

Jason's heart missed a beat, and he found a warm, giddy feeling rushing through him momentarily.

Wait, had Percy just said…

Did he…

Jason glanced sideways at Percy, but Percy already had his eyes closed again, rubbing his very naked body against Jason's side as he seemed intent on falling asleep again.

Yeah, Jason probably shouldn't ask him about that.

At least not now.

After all, he wasn't sure how he felt yet, so there was no point in urging Percy to say anything he might or might not mean, and might or might not regret saying at a later point.

"Nah, don't worry, I know. Just wanted you to say you love us. Go back to sleep, Gorgeous." Will said softly, and Jason wondered whether he knew what was going on inside Jason now, too.

"Good. And I'll say it however many times you need and want me to, sun-bug." Percy replied, and Jason smiled, remembering himself saying something similar before.

"And then another thousand or so times because I want to." He mumbled, and Percy hummed in reply, while Will chuckled ever so softly.

"You're both saps. Go to sleep."

"You go to sleep." Percy shot back, and now it was Jason who hummed in reply.

"How about all three of you go to sleep?" Nico suddenly grumbled behind Percy, and they all made a face, hurriedly closing their eyes.

"Of course, Nico."

"Will do, my Angel."

"They started it."

Jason, Percy and Will replied, and Jason and Percy instantly turned to shoot Will a dark look.

That was a lie.

If anything, Will had been the one to start this whole thing by chiding Jason out of nowhere.

Will grinned cheekily at both of them, while Nico let out a loud, deep sigh, turning his back to them again.

"I don't care who started it. I'm ending it. Go to sleep, or I'm not kissing any of you tomorrow."

Wow, harsh.

Will and Percy promptly wailed, burying their faces at Jason's chest from both sides.

"Noo, you can't do that!"

"We'll sleep, we'll sleep!"

Percy and Will insisted, and Jason couldn't help but snort out a small laugh.

They were way too adorable.

Promptly, two fingers poked him left and right, and he flinched, laughing even more.

"Don't laugh at our misery, Handsome!" Will complained indignantly, poking him a few more times.

"Somebody still seems _cocky_ from earlier." Percy remarked, also poking him over and over again.

Jason wasn't sure why, but they seemed to get him at a pretty sensitive spot, because it felt a lot more like tickling, and he found himself jumping and laughing more and more each and every time, which only seemed to egg them on even more.

Great.

"Stop it, guys~…" He lamented between chuckles, but now both Percy and Will were pushing themselves up and attacking his stomach, now _tickling for real_.

No~.

"Are you tickling Jason instead of sleeping?" Nico grumbled, and Jason thought he could see him sitting up next to them, though it was hard to tell with the dim light and Jason's eyes squeezing shut every few seconds due to the fierce assaults of two wild boyfriends.

"Yes!" Both Will and Percy exclaimed loudly, then let out matching war cries and continued on their task to make Jason writhe and giggle and pant.

Seriously!

Maybe Nico would save him…yeah…he surely would…

"Lemme join in." The Italian stated, sounding a lot more awake than a moment ago, and Jason wailed loudly.

How cruel was that?!

Betrayed by his own boyfriend!

Betrayed by _all_ his boyfriends!

He tried to roll sideways, but that only made Percy grab his butt.

 _Molested_ by his boyfriends!

Jason wailed louder, then couldn't keep himself from giggling, and the way Percy affectionately squeezed his backside didn't help, either.

It felt rather nice, to be honest, but he wasn't going to tell him that, else Percy would be all smug and triumphant about it and do it at the worst times possible.

He tried to wail again, but the giggles were too prominent, and his boyfriends grinned too freely for him to really _want_ them to stop.

So instead, he submitted himself to his fate, and the small cries of victory around him showed him they knew.

Such dorks.

Jason loved them.


	5. Chapter 5: Sappy Love Songs

**A/N:** Hey there, Cupcakes :)

Aaaand here comes the next chapter :3  
Not the one anyone will expect, but one that had to happen.

I want to apologize to everyone on FFnet who has tried to contact me so far and has not yet received a reply, I'm still having issues with either the website or my laptop (or a mix of both?). I'm not ignoring you, life just hates me sometimes =.=

Anyways, there's a light trigger warning for this chapter, as there's a lot of anxiety and worrying in it (and a bit of crying, though I promise not because of anything 'bad'), and very light flashbacks/implied memories.  
(There's also a teensy bit of foreshadowing, but if you're not gonna mention it, neither will I ;))

Hope you'll still enjoy it, though :3

Wish you all the best~  
Till next sunday ;)  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 05: Sappy Love Songs**

After their first orgy (which had been super amazing, might he mention), the next three days passed remarkably uneventful.

Percy wasn't sure what to think of it.

They hadn't had sex at all, not even simple and quick handjobs or the like, though Percy surely wouldn't have minded.

Instead, work had picked up, and they had had to struggle through their days, mostly parted from one another.

Yeah, because Jason still had 'lots of planning to do', Will had tons of work in the infirmary, and Chiron had had the _splendid_ idea of parting Percy and Nico and letting them teach sword-fighting separately – Percy in the arena, and Nico outside.

For efficiency reasons, or something.

Percy didn't care.

He hated it.

It made him sour and ill-tempered to be without any of the three, instead forced to deal with group after group of demigods that did or didn't care for sword-fighting.

Things had been _so_ much more fun when Nico, Jason and he had trained demigods together in the arena during December.

Why couldn't they do that anymore?

Alright, he understood things were different now, and a lot more serious, especially because there might or might not have been another monster attack on a group of demigods (at least they hadn't shown up yet and were already overdue for a week), but Percy couldn't do this.

He just _couldn't_.

Sword-fighting was fun, yes, he liked it, and he knew he was good at it, and teaching was fun, too, but not when it became a _chore_ like this.

Not when everything he enjoyed about it was ripped from him.

The kids didn't even smile, they had no joy in learning, they just watched him with serious faces and mimicked his attacks without enthusiasm.

It reminded him of all the things he _didn't_ like about sword-fighting.

Or fighting, in general.

Percy hated fighting.

He had never wanted to be a hero, much less a demigod.

The thought of him _having_ to fight again in whatever it was that was to come only made him sick, made him want to grab his guys and flee, made him want to lock them all up somewhere safe and not give a damn about what would happen to the rest of the world.

Sadly, he knew from experience that things didn't work out that way, and if his Will was involved, he'd have to make do with picking up his sword again and doing his best to protect his boyfriends, as well as his home, as well as everybody and everything else.

He still didn't like it, though.

Percy dismissed his third class of the day, and promptly spotted a few kids from his fourth one already walking into the arena.

So much about maybe sneaking out real quick to watch his boyfriend (and maybe steal a few kisses).

Stupid Chiron and his stupid orders.

Shouldn't he cower in shame in front of them and beg them for forgiveness for doubting Jason's words, letting a rapist and pedophile stay at camp, and forcing Will to put up with all of that – not to mention the fact he had _let this happen right under his nose for years_ before?!

Percy and Nico could have very well trained the kids separately, while still working together.

They could have both trained their groups next to each other in the arena, or fused the groups and taught them the same way they had up until now.

Percy grumbled to himself, then adapted the same grumpy face the few kids were giving him.

If he had to suffer, they had to suffer, too.

He leaned down to snatch his water bottle that Will had urged him to take along with him (though he had almost forgotten his own, that dork) and chugged down half the bottle just to not get started on the training right away.

This was pointless.

All of this was just plain pointless.

Kyle was out there, doing who knew what with who knew whom, and they were standing around here teaching kids how to destroy monsters and murder demigods (if worst came to worst, that was).

Children.

They were mere children.

Same as Percy had been.

In a way, he saw himself in a lot of them, especially those that didn't seem to want to be here at all.

How many of these kids were like him, thinking they had never asked for this?

How many of them wished they just had a normal, boring life like all those other mortals got to have?

How many of them would die in the next months if monster attacks started occurring more and more and Kyle or whoever he was working with made their next move?

There was bound to be more.

He had left, yes, but he hadn't done so willingly, and Percy just _knew_ he'd try to get to Will again.

Of course, they didn't know _why_ he wanted Will – or the person with 'visions', in general – but Percy also didn't give a damn about any possible reasoning.

He just wanted Kyle dead and his Will safe and that was all there was to it.

Percy sighed, putting his water bottle down and turning to face his next class, already uncapping his pen to allow Riptide to reform.

"Alright, kids. Let's get this over with." He called, not even bothering to hide his bad mood.

"Wow, so much motivation, I'm amazed." A voice joked, and if Percy hadn't immediately recognized it, he'd have probably gotten angry.

However, the voice only made his heart skip a beat and his face instantly brighten as he turned to spot Will walking into the arena, holding what was probably lunch.

"Will!" He exclaimed, for once not giving a damn about the food as he made straight for his boyfriend, throwing his arms around him.

Will snorted, though he hugged him back and even allowed him to swirl him in a little circle, his free hand patting him on the back with a small laugh.

"There, there. Missed me so bad? Come on, this is, what, the fourth class? Fifth? Only a few more, then you'll be free, Gorgeous." Will assured him, but Percy only grumbled, burying his face at the side of Will's neck, inhaling his summer-y scent.

"Don't wanna. Take me with you." He lamented quietly, and Will sighed, stroking up and down his back as if in consolation.

"I would if I could, Perce. But somebody needs to teach these kids how to stay safe. I thought you liked teaching?"

Percy usually did.

But he simply lacked the motivation right now, and there was zero enthusiasm from the class, too, so he really didn't even see a point in trying.

He grumbled again, then wailed quietly that Will had to save him and get him out of here.

Will only sighed again.

"Well, if it's any consolation, Jason says he'll drop by later and keep you company for a bit. I met him at lunch. Also, Nico misses you, but don't tell him I told you. He's trying to act tough and teach the kids, but he misses the ease that came with training with and alongside you." His blonde explained, and Percy longed to get out of here and get to Nico, to fuse their groups and teach the way they wanted to, to get that ease back that Nico had apparently noticed, too.

It just wasn't fair!

Then again…Will and Jason had to be by themselves for much longer, and that every day, too.

In a way, Percy really had no right to be this upset.

Though it wasn't even the fact that he was away from his guys.

It was more the fact they hadn't been allowed to make this decision, themselves, but had been forced to follow Chiron's orders, and the change had happened from one day to the next, and Percy didn't _want_ to train the kids this way.

He squeezed Will a little tighter, and Will rubbed his palms over his back.

"Hey, it's okay, sweets. I already talked to Chiron, and Jason said Annabeth is livid about the changes, too, so I'm sure you and Nico will be allowed to train together again in no time." Will soothed, and Percy frowned slightly, nibbling on Will's neck absent-mindedly.

Will had talked to Chiron?

About this?

How had he even known it bothered Percy?

They had only found out about the change two days ago, and this was pretty much the second day they were doing it, how could Will have been able to tell?

Plus, that wasn't even the problem!

…At least not all of it.

"They don't even want to learn anything, sun-bug…" He whispered quietly, and Will turned his head slightly, probably glancing at the kids he was supposed to be teaching right now.

"How so?" His boyfriend asked back, and Percy shrugged, trying to get a little closer to Will, but Will was already pulling away, studying his face quietly.

"They all just mimic what I'm doing and look either bored or dead serious. It's just…I'm just…"

What was there to say?

He missed the fun?

Well, training was serious business. He probably wasn't even supposed to have fun.

Still…

"Have you tried giving your moves crazy names? That might ease the tension a bit." Will suggested, but Percy wasn't sure whether that would really change anything.

He sighed, and Will's hand flew up to his face, stroking over his cheek, his eyes blazing with concern.

For a moment, his eyes seemed to glaze over, as if he was thinking of something, or remembering something, then Will suddenly blinked, looking a tad confused, before he gazed back at Percy with the same look of concern as before.

Percy wasn't sure what to make of it.

He leaned into the touch, and Will brought his other hand up to cup his face, before pulling him closer ever so slowly to push their lips together in a chaste kiss.

"Are you still going to teach us anything?" A kid behind them asked disgruntled, and Percy stiffened, anger bubbling up inside him for a moment, though he pushed it right back down.

Will shot a stern look over Percy's shoulder.

"Let me make out with my boyfriend, Dilan. You guys already know the basics, anyways, why don't you already start practicing with the dummies?"

Percy's hands closed around Will's wrists, trying to keep them at his face, trying to keep Will close, trying to keep him with him forever.

"This is stupid." Dilan grumbled, but he heard the kids shuffling to get started on hacking away at the dummies, anyways.

Yeah, he agreed.

This was stupid.

All of this was stupid.

He wanted to be back in their cabin, with his guys, and just plainly waste the whole day away.

Will eyed him oddly, then leaned closer to give him a timid kiss again.

"I have to go now. Eat your lunch, Percy. Jason will come by later, okay? Oh, and I'll be with my siblings later, so you don't need to come looking for me in the infirmary. Don't wait for me, I'll join you at the Camp Fire, alright?"

Percy nodded, though he didn't exactly understand _why_ Will was doing any of that.

He didn't ask, though.

Will had seemed a tad absent-minded since last night's nightmare, so if he decided he wanted to spend some time with his siblings, that was fine by Percy.

Again, it wasn't the fact he was alone that was bothering Percy.

It was the fact that they hadn't decided that, themselves.

Though, hey, if he had the choice, he'd certainly want to spend _all_ his time with his guys.

But since they had only _just_ gotten together, he was pretty sure that was normal.

(If not, he didn't care, either.)

Will smiled at him, then rolled his eyes, his hand moving to the back of Percy's head to pull him in for another quick kiss.

"Alright, I'm off. Love you, sweets. Stay safe, and teach the kids well enough to not cause me more work." His blonde said the moment he pulled back, and Percy resisted the urge to hold him back, instead watching him go with mixed feelings.

Then, his gaze dropped to Will's butt, looking way too nice in those disturbingly tight jeans (wait, were those _Nico's_?!), and Percy felt his mood improving again as he realized he was allowed to check out that delicious backside.

Yeah, maybe he was just being an idiot, and this was actually nothing.

Will and Jason were alone most of the day, too, and it's not like they _really_ chose that, either.

Taking a deep breath, Percy put on a smile, deciding to follow Will's advice and get some teaching done.

After all, he wouldn't want to cause his boyfriend more work, would he now?

"Alright, attention everybody!" He called, and all the kids looked around at him, ready to learn.

(More or less, at least.)

He could do this.

Just three more classes, and he'd be done for the day.

Yeah, he could do this.

...

"Hey guys." Will greeted, sounding breathless and exhausted, and…well, he looked the part, too.

Jason frowned, wondering what he had been doing up until now, since Will had told him at lunch he was practically almost done with his shift in the infirmary, and was going to spend time with his siblings right after.

To Jason, that had sort of sounded as if he was going to do some fun and relaxing things with his siblings, not actually tire himself out worse than when he was working in the infirmary.

He studied Will as he came closer to their table, flopping down next to him on the bench and stealing some of Percy's fries.

Was he okay?

He looked a bit odd.

And that smile on his face was most definitely fake, Jason could tell the difference by now.

Had his siblings said something? Done something?

Not on purpose, of course, but maybe accidentally?

Like how Jason still said stupid, careless things sometimes?

"Hey!" Percy complained, while Nico just smiled relieved and pushed his plate over to Will for him to finish his salad.

"Fries aren't good for you in the evening, anyways, Perseus. How many times do I have to tell you? Oh well, you and your comfort food, I guess. Still love you. Come here, give me a kiss, I'm tired as heck." Will first chided, then started lamenting, leaning over the table to get Percy to kiss him.

It was almost comical to watch Percy falling all over himself as he dropped everything else he was doing to comply as fast as he could.

Nico and Jason exchanged a quick look, then Nico squeaked when Will grabbed hold of him next, pressing a loud and wet kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Jason was prepared for Will's onslaught no moment later, and met him midway to give him a quick and chaste kiss, too.

Apparently, Will had to-…

"Okay, now I feel a lot better. Thanks, guys. Just needed my daily dose of _boyfriends_ , you know?" Will stated, then pulled Nico's plate closer and started wolfing down the salad much like Percy usually did whenever he had blue pizza.

Jason frowned again, studying him from the side.

This was unusual for Will.

The fact he had told them he'd be with his siblings, but hadn't told any of them why or what they'd be doing was already unusual, but they had decided not to question it and leave him be.

But now, he looked worn out and exhausted, he still hadn't told them what he had been up to the past hours, _and_ he had just admitted to needing a sort of recharge.

He might make it sound like a joke, but Will didn't really joke about such things.

Whatever he had been doing, it must have taken quite the toll on him.

Jason didn't like it.

He exchanged a look with Percy, who had a similarly grim expression on his face.

Then he glanced towards Nico, but Nico was too busy studying Will to notice, though that already showed him they had all noticed the same thing.

"So, how was your day, Freckles?" Jason asked, but Will merely shrugged, stealing Jason's water, next.

"It was alright. Hey, I'll have to leave again after this, but we're still on for the Camp Fire tonight, right?" He asked, seeming…weird.

Slightly…fidgety?

It didn't make any sense.

"Unless you want to do something different?" He asked cautiously, but Will instantly shook his head.

"No! No, Camp Fire sounds great. I'd love to go there. Make sure to be there early, okay?"

That…was an odd request.

Will hadn't seemed very fond of the Camp Fires lately, after all.

(Well, who could blame him, with some people still talking?)

Nico and Percy, who had both been about to eat Percy's fries, looked at Will with matching questioning looks, fries all but forgotten.

"Erm…okay? What are you up to, anyways?" Percy asked cautiously, but Will merely tilted his head, smiling his actor's smile at them.

"Hm? What do you mean? I just don't want to wait on you guys all by myself, that's all. To be honest, I'm surprised to find you at dinner this early. Didn't you want to finally get Leo to come over for the A/C?"

Was it just Jason, or had Will just ever so smoothly changed the topic?

Glancing around at Percy and Nico, he found them immediately going along with Will and telling him how they _had_ gone to Leo, but the Latino had been too busy with some sort of new invention to really go with them, though he had managed to get their keys done.

Oh yes, keys.

Will's eyebrows shot up the same moment Nico jumped and rummaged in his pocket for Will's copy of his cabin key, and Jason smiled when he saw his expression morph from surprise to utter _joy_.

Aww.

Will was so adorable sometimes.

(All the time.)

Jason's smile turned into a broad grin as he watched Will reach out for his key, taking it gingerly as if it could break, and gazing at it as if it was some sort of sacred treasure, something precious, something absolutely amazing.

Maybe, to Will, it was.

It had been special to Jason, too, but Will looked as if all his dreams had just come true at once.

"Will?" Nico asked uncertainly, and Jason noticed Will looked close to tears, though he still looked so utterly elated, he was certain it was tears of joy he was holding back.

He reacted automatically, reaching out to wrap his arms around Will and tug him closer and onto his lap, keeping him close and holding him tightly.

Will shook his head and waved off with one hand, though he didn't fight Jason whatsoever, and turned sideways to hide his face against his chest almost immediately, sniffling ever so slightly.

"I…I'm just…really happy…" Will tried to explain, his voice cracking slightly as he held the key to his heart, and Jason shook his head slightly, stroking up and down his back in long strokes.

"We know, love." He said softly, and Percy and Nico exchanged a quick glance before moving, rounding the table to sit down to his left and right, reaching out to stroke Will, as well, who huffed loudly and buried his face in Jason's shirt, hiding it from sight.

"There, there. Want to make a quick stop at our cabin?" Percy offered, but Will shook his head, moving his free hand up between himself and Jason to rub at his eyes.

"I'm fine. Sorry, guys. I know this is weird. It's just a key, I know. But…well, whatever. I should go. I told Kayla I'd only quickly grab a bite to eat and see whether I spot you. 'm already gone for way too long as it is…" He mumbled, but if he thought Jason was going to let him go when he was still crying to himself, then he was very much mistaken.

Jason decided to mutely point that out by tightening his grip on him and putting his chin on top of Will's head.

"Stay a bit longer. Kayla will understand, surely." Nico said softly, and even though Will shook his head, he made no move to leave, so Percy and Nico leaned against Jason's side, the three of them still stroking up and down Will's back, and Percy even managing to wipe away the tears Will couldn't seem to hold back.

They didn't ask Will to elaborate why the key seemed so important to him.

It didn't matter.

If he wanted them to know, he'd tell them.

Nico shifted closer and leaned over to press his lips against Will's shoulder, making him turn his head slightly to look at him.

The Italian smiled, then moved to give him a chaste kiss, and Jason felt Will's balance shifting as he returned it.

He even reached out to pull Nico in for another one.

And another one.

And one more.

Percy chuckled softly, and Jason knew even before Will and Nico looked around at him that Percy was going to be the next victim.

Sure enough, the next moment, Will's balance shifted again and Percy let out a startled sound before he was pulled into a much more intense kiss than those he had just shared with Nico.

Jason smiled, knowing he was already getting better if he could kiss them like that again.

Everything was okay.

Will's hands closed around his shoulders, and he blinked, before his smile slid off his face as Will suddenly lunged at him, next.

 _Unexpected._

Well, in a way, Jason should have seen it coming, really.

He felt Will's lips against his, felt his breath against his skin, felt the way Will's balance shifted to allow him closer, and he kissed back as soon as his brain allowed, humming to himself.

They were dating for almost three weeks already, yet kissing Will still felt so new and special, it made his heart flutter each and every time.

"Recharging again?" He asked softly when Will pulled away, and his boyfriend shot him a cheeky smile, before giving him another peck.

"Always, Handsome. Simply can't get enough of the three of you. Thanks for the key, Nico. Seriously, it means a lot to me. And thanks for not brushing me off as some creep or crybaby yet." Will replied, and Jason rolled his eyes, though Percy beat him to ruffling through Will's hair.

"Oh, shush, sun-bug. Never. You have no idea how much _I_ wept when Nico gave me my key." He insisted, and Jason's eyebrows shot up.

"That was because you got your hand stuck in the drawer when you decided it was a smart idea to lean against it." Nico pointed out, and Percy made a face, while Will chuckled – and immediately went and snatched Percy's hand to inspect it.

"Nice try, Percy. No, I'm pretty I'm the only crybaby here. Anyways, your hand is fine."

"Meh. I know, else I'd have searched for my doctor to patch me up. Can I have a 'Get better soon'-kiss, anyways?" Percy asked with a cheeky grin, and Will went to comply.

"I really have to go, though." He then stated, and both Nico and Percy made pouty faces at him.

"Five more minutes?" Jason tried tentatively, and Will threw him a look that said 'You guys gotta be kidding me'.

Nope, they were absolutely serious.

Plus, it felt nice, having Will on his lap like this.

Nico touched Will's shoulder, and Will automatically turned his head, already sealing his fate.

Because the Italian had put on his best puppy face yet.

And they all knew that _nobody_ could resist Nico's puppy face.

Nobody.

Especially not Will.

Jason watched how Will first glanced at Nico, then seemed too captivated to look away, his pupils dilating, his lips parting as if to speak, though no sound came out.

He gazed – _stared_ – and Nico bowed his head ever so slightly to look up at him with those beautiful, seductive, dark eyes of his, which didn't only make Will swallow thickly.

"Please? Just five minutes more…" Nico asked, and Jason found himself wanting to nod in reply, though Nico wasn't even talking to him.

Will nodded numbly.

"Anything for you, Nico…" He whispered, then blinked, then sighed deeply, though he smiled no moment later, moving his hands to cup Nico's face and draw him into another kiss.

"How dare you use my weakness against me, huh? I'll get you for that, Death Boy. You just wait." Will insisted darkly, but all that did was make Nico chuckle, before he gave Will a peck on the nose.

"Whatever makes you happy, sunshine." He replied good-naturedly, and Jason shared a soft look with Percy, who had his chin on Jason's shoulder and watched the two with a broad grin, looking absolutely content with the world.

Which was great, given that Percy seemed to have had quite the bad mood the majority of the day.

" _You_ make me happy." Will insisted instantly, and Nico beamed at him, which looked so, so amazing.

He smiled so much these days, but such radiant smiles still seemed way too rare.

"Alright, prepare for a smooching attack, sole mio." Nico warned, and all Will could do was squeak in what sounded a lot more like delight than horror, then Nico already moved in and started showering Will in kisses.

Percy and Jason laughed in unison, then shared another amused look before joining in, making Will giggle and wail and laugh and squeal.

"You guys are impossible!"

"You love it." The three of them countered back at the same time, and continued unperturbed, while Will wailed a little louder, though he didn't even try to escape.

They should totally do this more often.

"But I have to leave!"

"Nope, you promised us five minutes." Nico shot back.

"You know you'd much rather stay here with us." Jason declared, knowing he was right.

"Let us shower you in love." Percy insisted.

Will snorted, then wailed, then started giggling and squealing, apparently forgetting he was trying to make them think he wasn't utterly enjoying it.

Perfect.

"You're still impossible, just so you know!" Will pressed out between laughing fits, and they huffed.

Oh, they knew.

They liked it that way, too.

"Feel the love!" Percy cried, and that was all the war cry they needed to make all three of them return to their task with renewed vigor.

Will could only laugh and squeal, and the world was okay.

...

Seriously, those guys.

Will could only shake his head, remembering dinner all over again, though he certainly had enough other things to worry about right now.

Yeah, but those things were nerve-wrecking and exhausting, so he much rather thought of his wonderful boyfriends, who apparently didn't have anything better to do than shower him in love and affection every time he had some sort of awkward and totally uncalled for emotional outbreak.

Nico had given him his very own copy of his cabin key…

Will closed his eyes, his lips trembling as the tears started welling up in his eyes again, though he pushed it down.

It wasn't even that much of a deal!

It was just a key!

They had been staying over in that cabin for forever already, anyways!

Plus, Percy had given him that key that unlocked practically _any_ door, so Will could have gone in and out of that cabin at heart's content before now, too!

Will still felt like crying out of pure joy, anyways.

This was just like them actually living together.

Like, officially.

With their own keys, showing Nico wanted them to go in and out of that cabin, showing he wanted _Will_ to go in and out of that cabin.

Showing he wanted Will to live with him, with _them_.

Will had the cabin key to the Apollo cabin, and the one to the infirmary, and the key to the medications and ambrosia and nectar in the infirmary, but that wasn't the same.

It was worlds apart, really.

The Apollo cabin had become his home back when he had been claimed, but he had never chosen it, had never really wanted to go there.

In fact, he had never wanted to go to Camp, at all.

He had just wanted his mother back, and the shitty apartment they had had.

But that had been ripped from him, and then he had had to call Camp his home, and then he had been claimed, and the Apollo cabin had become his home.

Will loved his siblings.

He really did.

But somehow, he had never truly seen the Apollo cabin as his _true_ home.

The place he _really_ wanted to be.

Maybe it was because of all the bad stuff that had happened, the bad start he had had there, the fact that _Kyle_ had happened, the fact that Will had never been _safe_ inside that cabin.

But it simply was that way.

Nico's cabin, however…

Nico's cabin felt like home to him.

 _The guys_ felt like home to him.

They had spent so much time in there, had done so many things in there, it felt _right_ to call that place home.

And Nico had given him the key, as if to tell him 'Yes, this is our home, we think so, too'.

It felt wonderful.

Will felt a tear rolling down his cheek and quickly brushed it away, before any of his siblings could see.

He had no time to be sentimental right now.

They were about to leave, and he had thousands of things to think about and ponder, this one would have to wait until _later_.

Gods, was he seriously going to do this, though?

Maybe it wasn't time yet.

Maybe he should practice some more, over the next some days.

This surely _had_ been a very sudden decision, even for his standards, after all…

No, he had decided today in the morning it was time.

After waking from his nightmare and feeling as if he had been run over by a truck several times, just to have his guys comfort him and kiss him and patch him right back up without a second thought or even the hint of exasperation (even though he knew it had to be horrible to be repeatedly woken by his nightmares every. Single. Night.), he had decided it was time.

He could do this.

He had practiced the entire afternoon, with the help of his siblings.

Yes, he could do this.

"Ready?" Kayla asked, and he nodded, wishing he wasn't holding onto so many things so he could fidget with his hands.

Well, thinking of it that way, it was probably better that he _did_ hold so many things.

('So many', yeah, right. He was holding _two_ things. But hey, his hands were occupied, so same difference, anyways.)

"You sure you want to go through with that?" Austin asked, and Alec waved a hand in his face to shoo him away.

"Stop it, don't make him change his mind. I think it's awesome. Will, they're going to love it."

Yeah, or they'd hate it, and Will wouldn't be able to show his face for days on end.

Gods, what if he had to actually sleep in the Apollo cabin again?

His siblings would murder him if he woke _them_ up in the middle of the night due to his nightmares.

Not to mention, the whole place might just as well burn down.

Who knew how much his nightmares could escalate, after all?

He already felt as if he was burning up from the inside out each time, after all, he was just _waiting_ for the day he woke up to find his body on actual fire.

Then again, that was more a Leo-thing, not a Will-thing.

At least he hoped so.

Will took a deep breath, trying to sort out his thoughts again.

No, that wouldn't happen.

The worst that could happen was that he'd make a fool of himself, and his guys would never punish him for that.

 _Punish_.

Will shuddered, closing his eyes and forcing himself to take another deep breath.

No, it was okay.

Nothing bad was going to happen.

He trusted them.

…He had trusted _him_ , too.

Will's jaw clenched, and his grip tightened for a moment.

No, it wasn't the same.

They were different.

They'd never hurt him.

Not like that, anyways.

"Alright, if everybody is ready, let's go." Kayla called, and Will swallowed, opening his eyes again and trying to focus on following his siblings out of the cabin.

Everything was okay.

Everything would be okay.

Will felt nervous, and slightly sick.

But hey, that was to be expected.

Alec clapped him on the back rather hard, making him wince inwardly as he glanced sideways at his half-brother.

"Oh, this is going to be so awesome! You'll do great, just you wait."

Yeah, he wished he could tell himself that, too.

Maybe he should have told his guys what he was up to.

He had thought about it, but then realized it required too much courage he hadn't had so far, so he had resorted to 'surprising' them.

Maybe that alone should have shown him this was a bad idea, though.

If he wasn't even able to _tell_ them what he was about to do, how was he supposed to actually _do_ it?

Great.

Awesome thinking, Solace.

They made their way to the Camp Fire, the sound of way too many demigods chatting reaching his ears and promptly filling him with even more uncertainty and only adding to his nervousness.

Great, was he going to get stage fright now, too?

No, he could do this.

He was going to do this.

Will didn't want to, but he automatically searched for his guys in the crowd as they got closer, both his ears and eyes straining to find them, to catch a glimpse of them, to hear their voices.

Were they already there?

He had told them to be early, but now he wasn't quite sure whether he wanted them to already be there, or to come when he was already…ready.

Gods, what if something went wrong, though?

What if he messed up?

What if he made a fool of himself?

What if he started, but then found himself unable to continue?

What if he couldn't even start at all?

Worry gnawed on him, the uncertainty of what was to come, the fear of messing up weighing him down and making his feet drag over the ground, as if there was an additional weight added to them that made it difficult to move.

He caught himself nibbling on his bottom lip and promptly stopped, knowing his guys would worry instantly if they noticed just how nervous he was.

He didn't want to worry them.

Anything but.

Gods, what had he been thinking, though?

What had he been _thinking_ when he had decided this was a good idea?

It wasn't a good idea.

It was a horrible idea, really.

Will was _bound_ to mess up.

But even if he _didn't_ , what if they didn't like it?

What if they thought it weird?

Or too much?

Will swallowed again, his eyes hushing over the various faces he could spot, but there were too many kids in the way between himself and the corner they usually sat in, so he couldn't tell whether his guys were really there already or not.

He couldn't make out their voices, either.

Weren't there here yet? Or were they simply quiet?  
If they were here, had they seen him already?  
Did they already know what he was about to do?

Would they know what he was doing?  
Would they know how important this was to him?  
Would they know what he wanted to show them?

Would they understand?

Too many questions.

Will didn't have the answers to any of them.

He never had the answers to the questions that mattered, it seemed.

Will lowered his head, looking down at his shaking fingers as he held onto his guitar and the notes as if his life depended on it.

He could do this.

He would do this.

Everything would be okay.

"Your boyfriends are staring." Kayla noted, and Will's head shot up, his eyes immediately searching for his guys, just to spot them right there in their corner, staring back at him with looks of utter surprise.

Oh gods, they had seen him.

Oh gods, they knew.

Will should turn around and run.

No, wait, he shouldn't.

He had decided to do this.

He was going to pull through with this.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Will felt the cold sweat on his face, his neck, his arms, his entire body, and he didn't even want to know how he had to look.

By the way he felt, he had to be pale as a sheet, and looking rather pathetic altogether.

Seriously, he still couldn't see what the guys saw in him that they'd willingly date him, but he guessed inner values were more important to them than looks.

Bless them for that, really.

Will swallowed again and tried to shoot them a small smile, but was pretty sure it looked more like a grimace, so he stopped again.

They were still staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

Gods, this was a horrible idea.

Maybe he could still back out.

Just drop his damned guitar and rush over and tell them something stupid about holding onto Alec's guitar for a bit.

He glanced sideways at Alec, knowing full well his half-brother had brought his own guitar and was holding it this very instant.

Yeah, not a very believable lie.

Plus, the guys had already seen his guitar before, had held it – Percy and Jason had even carried it for him before.

They were bound to recognize this one was that very guitar.

They had to know what Will was up to.

Gods, this had been a _horrible_ idea.

How had Will ever thought this was a good idea?

"Want to go over to them for a moment before we start?" Kayla asked, undoubtedly noticing his utter unease.

But he shook his head.

If he went over to them now, he'd never leave again, unless it was to run to their cabin and lock himself in the bathroom to wallow in shame and self-pity.

Not going to happen.

He was going to do this.

Absolutely.

"Alright. Guys, let's do this. Our song first, to get everybody to quieten down a bit, then it's Will's turn."

Oh, please no.

Maybe he should do this right away.

Get it over with.

He _really_ didn't want anybody to quieten down at all.

In fact, the louder they were, the better.

Maybe that would drown him out completely, and his guys wouldn't-…that was not the purpose of what he was going to do, was it now?

Oh gods, he couldn't do this.

Wait, yes, he could.

But what if he messed up?

Will always messed up.

He messed _everything_ up.

Austin and Alec clapped him on the shoulder a last time, then brushed past him to take their spots and start playing their instruments, starting on the first song of the night.

Okay, he could do this.

Kayla was doing this to give him enough time to collect himself.

He had to…had to…

He had to go over his notes.

Yes.

Nothing would be worse than messing up because he didn't have his notes in order.

Actually, Will could think of tons of things that were much worse than that, but he tried to ignore them for the time being.

His eyes flew over the papers without comprehending a single thing, and he forced himself to do it again, this time slower.

For some reason, he felt as if he had just very conveniently forgotten how to read sheet music.

He started sweating, now jumping up and down nervously on the heels of his feet, almost dropping his guitar as he flipped pages and shuffled the papers and almost had a heart attack when page seven was suddenly where page three was supposed to be.

Oh no, he wasn't allowed to mess this up!

This was important, damn it!

His breath hitched in his throat, the sound luckily drowned out by his siblings' singing, and he hurried to sort out his pages.

Everything would be okay.

His guys wouldn't hurt him.

Even if he played a note wrong, even if he messed up, they wouldn't hurt him.

They wouldn't.

They would never.

Will forced himself to take another deep breath, glad he was hidden from view behind his siblings, and even gladder they didn't urge him to sing along with them right now.

Seriously, he'd probably have a breakdown and cry.

Very mature, indeed.

Exactly what a cabin leader should be like.

Gods, he was pathetic.

Paying a bit more attention to what was happening around him, he caught snippets of some kids whispering about him, surprised he was there, surprised he had his guitar with him, wondering what he was doing, just standing there instead of participating, wondering why he was there.

Will tried to ignore it, the words doing nothing for his nerves whatsoever.

Sadly, the next thing he noticed was that his siblings were almost done with their song, which made him jump and panic, because that meant it would be his turn in a moment.

Oh gods, he couldn't do this.

Wait, yes, he could.

He could do this.

For his guys.

This was important, and he could do this, because it was important, and he had to do this.

For them, and for himself.

His dream came to the front of his mind automatically, and he closed his eyes again.

He loved them.

He loved them so, so much.

And he wanted nothing more than spend the rest of his life with them, of having them grow old together, of settling down with them in New Rome, or any other place, really, of having them live together and be happy together until the very end.

But his time was limited.

He knew it was.

He had read enough books and heard enough stories and seen enough things to know one couldn't escape their fate.

Will knew a demigod's life was generally short, and seldom happy; knew that, for a demigod, death could lurk in every corner.

But to know it was a possibility somewhere in the back of his mind, and knowing full well _that_ he was going to die, even knowing roughly when…those were two different things.

One meant there was also a chance for things to work out differently. Better.

A chance for them to do all those things they were hoping to achieve.

Knowing he was going to die, and knowing how, and knowing when…that ruined all of that.

The guys still talked about it, sometimes.

About living in New Rome together.

About getting jobs.

About all the things they'd like to do.

'Later', they said.

But there wouldn't be a later for Will.

All he had was the here and now.

And he had to make the most of that.

Will swallowed thickly, ignoring the burning in his throat as well as the stinging in his eyes.

He only had the here and now.

Will loved his guys, and he was going to show it.

He was going to do this.

Because, if he didn't do it now, then when?

No, if he already had to die, he wanted to die knowing he had done this, that he had gotten over himself, over his past, over all the bullshit that had happened.

He could do this.

For his guys. For himself.

This was something he _could_ do.

Something he could give the guys.

It wasn't much, of course, but it was _something_.

And maybe, just maybe, they'd remember this one day.

He might be gone then, but maybe they'd remember this, and remember him, and would remember how much he had loved them.

It wasn't much.

He might make a complete fool of himself.

They might not even like it.

But it was all he could do.

He opened his eyes and gazed down at his notes again without seeing them, listening with a growing sense of numbness as his siblings let the rest of their song fade out, and feeling their eyes on him as they turned to look at him, checking whether he was ready.

He wasn't.

Will moved, anyways.

Forwards, not away.

He had sworn to himself he wouldn't run away anymore, not from his guys.

Kayla pulled a chair over, and he was glad he could do this while sitting.

He wasn't sure his shaking legs would have supported him through this.

In fact, it was a miracle they hadn't collapsed beneath him already, anyways.

Sheer willpower.

Hehe, _Will-_ power.

Will felt his lips twitching ever so faintly, sitting down on the chair and staring down at his notes again.

He should probably say something.

Gods, that was right, he had to say something.

Everybody was looking at him expectantly, after all, Will could feel it.

He wanted to look up and search for his guys, to see how they were looking at him, to see what they might be thinking, to see how they were taking all of this.

But he couldn't make himself.

The silence was stretching on.

Oh gods, this was already a fiasco.

Will cleared his throat, wishing his acting abilities would actually for once _not_ leave him whenever he desperately needed them.

"Hi." He very eloquently said, and promptly wished the ground would swallow him whole.

Oh gods, this was horrible.

How had he ever thought this was a good idea?

A few kids snickered, then there was an angry hiss, and everybody instantly fell silent.

Had that been Nico?

No, it probably hadn't been.

Will was hearing things.

Anyways, he had to…erm…talk.

What was he supposed to say?

He stared down at his notes, wishing he had thought of some sort of speech – maybe even written it down on these stupid papers.

Though he'd already be more than glad if he had even _thought_ of what to say, beforehand.

Gods, he was an idiot.

"I'm…"

What? 'Going to play a song'?

Everybody who had eyes and a fairly decent vision to see his guitar would be able to tell.

Oh gods, this was the worst.

Will felt his face heating, but forced himself to clear his throat again.

Maybe he could act as if he had something stuck in it.

Maybe he could act as if he was going to choke.

That would certainly get him out of this.

Nobody would expect him to play when he was dying or dead, after all.

…What was he even thinking?

Will took a deep breath.

"I'm going to play a song. It's self-written, so bear with me. Needless to say, it's not for you. I mean, it's not…erm…"

Wow, how could he have just said that out loud?

Gods, so rude.

Alec snorted behind him, and was promptly elbowed in the ribs by Kayla.

Thanks, Kayla.

Though he'd have probably laughed, too, if this wasn't quite as nerve-wrecking as it was.

"It's…for my boyfriends. Yeah. So, erm, yes. I'll just…play it."

One of these days, Will was going to find himself another pile of luggage to leap into.

Somehow, it had felt quite liberating when he had done that, back in Camp Jupiter.

Maybe because it had been absolutely crazy with zero sense behind it whatsoever, and doing it had actually involved this whole 'letting go of who you are and what society has taught you all your life'-thing.

Again, sheer will-power.

Or maybe he was simply borderline crazy to begin with.

Anyways, that was not important right now.

Important was that he had already successfully made a fool of himself, and since he dropped his notes no moment later, that only seemed to add up more and more to the biggest mistake of his life.

Will took a deep breath, knowing he should bend down and pick up his notes, or even get up.

He should _move_ , in general.

Instead, he sat there and felt as if he was going to die.

Maybe Thanathos would have mercy on him and just show up early.

Ugh, he probably shouldn't even think that.

Will swallowed, then moved his guitar onto his lap to get into position, and by the time he remembered his notes were on the ground instead of in his hands or on the stand Austin had placed in front of him, he decided it would look ridiculous if he got up _now_.

So he didn't.

Who needed notes?

He wouldn't even be able to read them, anyways.

Will closed his eyes, trying to block out the few whispers that sounded around him, even though it was still remarkably quiet, and nobody was laughing yet.

That would probably change soon enough, but whatever.

Alright, he could do this.

Will started playing a few notes, just to check he hadn't messed up when he had tuned his guitar, even though he was well aware his guitar was just fine.

He could do this.

Slowly, he started playing the melody he had been practicing all afternoon, the melody he had come up with throughout his shift in the infirmary, the melody he had decided he'd make after he had woken up and had found his guys loving him.

He could do this.

Will focused on playing, trying to block out the rest of the world, though a part of him was yearning to look up to his guys.

He didn't.

Instead, he played his guitar, trying not to wince when he caught himself messing up once.

It was okay.

He could do this.

Will wet his lips, knowing it was time.

Maybe he should have involved his siblings in this.

They'd have been delighted to sing.

But this wasn't theirs to sing.

This was his song for his guys, not theirs.

To let them sing would take part of the meaning out of it.

Will bit his lip, trying to pull himself together enough to start.

Once he started, it might be easier to continue, and then it might be easier to finish.

But the lyrics were horrible!

There was too much he had wanted to say, too much he had wanted to convey, and even though he had done his best to shorten his lines, had done his best to cut it down, it was more text than he had ever witnessed in any song.

But it was his song.

His song for them.

And it was the best he had been able to do.

Will played the intro, feeling his fingers tremble, though they managed to play the chords right, this time.

Then, he wet his lips one last time, and started.

" _I saw you first when you were smaller  
You were so excited  
And way too cute  
My affection for you seemed one-sided  
But just look here  
Now I've got you._

 _You grew and turned into a hero  
Composed and cool  
Yet way too hot  
There was no way I could resist you  
Gods I'm so glad you like me  
Too._"

Will sang the first lines, his voice shaking the tiniest bit in the beginning, though he managed to control it.

He didn't look up, though he could hear the murmur going through the crowd, and was desperate to know what his guys thought, whether this was any good, whether he should continue or stop and run away.

But he didn't look.

He kept on playing.

And he kept on singing.

" _You make me feel warm  
You make me feel good  
You make me squeal in de-light  
And weep tears of joy  
You make me feel wholesome  
You make me feel light  
And Nico  
Let me tell you  
It's never felt so right._"

He almost messed up on 'delight', but managed just in time, moving his chip over the strings of his guitar at a slightly different pace, though he now changed it for the actual chorus.

Was this song any good?

Please, it had to be.

It was all Will had.

" _This is just a sappy love song  
But it is all that I can do  
And even if you think you know this  
I have to tell you I love you._"

Maybe he should have made this part longer, and shortened the rest.

But this was to all three of them, and he hadn't been able to bear the thought of throwing them together, of generalizing how he felt for them, when each of them was so different, so amazing, so special.

Will's breath was shaky when he released it, getting ready for his second verse.

The murmuring around him didn't stop, but he tried to ignore it, anyways.

Somewhere behind him, he thought he could hear one of his siblings offering quiet words of comfort and encouragement.

" _When I first saw you I didn't know  
Of the things I'd feel  
By looking at you  
But then you went, took my heart by storm  
Now I wouldn't want to  
Be without you  
_

 _We go to know each other better  
In such special ways  
I can't believe  
I still think of that night in the pillows  
And by the gods, I hope you do  
Too_."

Will felt his eyes pricking with tears even though he kept them tightly shut.

He messed up when he tried to change the rhythm, but could only pray it had gone unnoticed.

 _Please_.

Drawing another deep breath, he went on, feeling the tension only slightly leaving his shoulders as he kept on singing.

" _You make me feel precious  
You make me feel calm  
You make me hum in pleasure  
And let down my guard  
You make me feel like more  
Than I ever thought I'd be  
Jason, please believe me  
When I say I need you  
With me._"

Will nodded to himself.

It was the truth.

He was singing the truth.

Now, all he could do was pray for them to understand, to feel what he had tried so hard to convey.

" _This is just a sappy love song  
But it is all that I can do  
And even if you think you know this  
I have to tell you I love you_."

He could do this.

" _You and I we had a rough start  
Much more so  
When pining for Nico  
Little did I know one day soon  
I'd feel the exact same  
Way for you  
_

 _We laughed, we joked, we bickered, we fought  
Until I was all  
But drowning in you  
In you and your smiles, and your heart of gold  
And you might be a dork  
But now you're mine_."

He could do this, he could do this, he could do this.

Will took a deep breath, and opened his eyes for the faintest second, just to glimpse into the general direction of his boyfriends, though he closed them instantly again, too uncertain of whether he really wanted to see their reactions.

He wasn't done yet.

And if he looked now, he might never finish.

" _You make me feel loved  
You make me feel real  
You make me laugh loudly  
And let go of my fears  
You make me feel like there's  
A future I haven't seen  
Percy, with you I'm  
Happier than I've ever been._

 _This is just a sappy love song_  
 _But it is all that I can do_  
 _And even if you think you know this_  
 _I have to tell you I love you._ "

He sang, and straightened his back slightly, trying to be show he meant what he sang.

Percy had taken everything Will had thrown at him, all the nasty bits of his past, and he still claimed he loved him, and he still held him close, and he still treated him like someone who deserved to be loved.

Will believed him.

He took a deep breath, and opened his eyes, looking towards his guys as he continued, his heart in his throat.

" _So let me sing you this sappy love song  
Let this be something  
You'll remember me by  
And please let it be something  
That will make you smile_

 _You are so much to me_  
 _More than words could convey_

 _And no matter what_  
 _No matter when_  
 _Know that I've loved you_  
 _With all that I am."_

He finished, drawing out the vowels and slowing down more and more, until he could let it fade out as well as he could, playing the ending bit of his melody.

It wasn't perfect.

It was raw and too elaborate and much like the mess inside his head.

But it was his, and it conveyed just that.

It was all he had.

It had to be good enough.

Will gazed at his guys, and they gazed back, their expressions still full of surprise, though they seemed to be holding onto each other, all their focus on him.

He couldn't read whether they liked it or not.

Had it been enough?

Please, it had to have been.

He stopped playing, and for a long moment, there was silence, only disturbed by the Camp Fire next to him.

Somehow, he hadn't even noticed the murmuring had stopped.

Silence was awkward.

Will couldn't read that whatsoever, either.

A part of him wanted to say 'Yeah, so, that's it', while another part of him wanted to get up, grab his stuff, and disappear.

He didn't do either, instead sitting there and staring at his boyfriends, who were still clutching each other and staring at him.

Then, his siblings started clapping behind him, making the heat rise in his face, but it did the trick of making a jolt go through the crowd, before they suddenly joined in, too.

And then, as Will got up with a burning face and shaking limbs, working his jaw and feeling as if his heart was going to either break through his rib cage or come out of his throat, there they were.

His guys.

First jumping up, then suddenly in front of him, then suddenly around him, then suddenly pulling him harshly against them, all three of them at once trying to wrap themselves around him, all three of them with their hearts pounding in their chests, with their breathing ragged and their movements desperate and crazy.

They pulled him closer, and he heard their voices, though he couldn't quite make out their words, everything too fast, too indistinguishable, too frantic for him to understand.

Will stood there as if in trance, his guys pressing against him from all sides, their words still indistinguishable and frantic, though now he realized with a jolt they were crying.

Numbly, he wondered if he had been _that_ bad.

"Will, Will you're shaking." He thought he could hear Nico whisper with a shaky voice, the first words he actually understood – which was ironic, because suddenly the muttering around him was back again, and pretty loud, too.

"D-Did you like it?" He asked, unable to bear it any longer, and Nico sobbed, nodding his head wildly before he tightened his grip on him, his face disappearing at Will's chest as the tears ran down his cheeks.

"It was beautiful, Will. Absolutely beautiful." He sobbed, and Will wanted to ask why he was crying, then, but his mouth didn't work, and then he realized Percy and Jason were sobbing, too.

"You were amazing, Will. Absolutely amazing." Percy bawled, with tears spilling from his eyes like waterfalls.

Will wasn't quite sure what to do.

He looked towards Jason, because Jason was usually the composed one, the one who knew what to do.

But Jason was crying much like the other two, his hold on Will almost painful as he clutched him as if his life depended on it.

"I love you. I love you so much. That was perfect, Will. You were perfect. You are perfect. Please tell me you'll play this again, Will. Freckles. Will. _Will_."

Jason's voice was different than usual, frantic and desperate and higher, but Will still couldn't quite wrap his mind around all of this.

Maybe it was his ADHD.

It did act up at the worst times, after all.

"You don't think I made a fool of myself?" He asked stupidly, and Nico promptly made a feeble, disbelieving sound in the back of his throat, sounding partly humored by his question, partly disturbed.

"No! You were amazing. It was beautiful. Play it again." The Italian insisted, and Percy and Jason instantly agreed, and they were still crying, but Will still didn't quite understand why.

He just stood there, and his guys held him, and he let himself get held.

And somehow, it felt as if that was all he had ever needed.

"I love you, guys." He whispered, and they clutched him harder, chuckling (mostly Jason) and sobbing (mostly Percy) and hick-upping (mostly Nico) against his chest, his neck, the side of his face.

"Maybe you should get back to your cabin for the night." Annabeth mused next to them, and, while Will had no idea when she had gotten there, none of them jumped.

Then again, they didn't even really acknowledge her.

They merely nodded, and Will stared at her with wide eyes, still trying to catch on.

She winked at him.

"Nice song. The last verse was interesting." She said, and he nodded numbly, then he felt his guys pulling away, and all his focus was on them again, her words instantly forgotten.

But they weren't pulling away to leave him, they were pulling away to grab him and tug him along with them, making their way away from the Camp Fire and towards their cabin, their _home_ , stumbling and sobbing and seeming as beside themselves as Will was.

Will let it happen, his entire body tingling, his mind seeming both blank and over-filled at the same time.

But slowly, ever so slowly, it started to sink in.

 _They had liked it._

...

They stumbled into their cabin, a crying, sobbing mess, all bundled together, unable to let go of one another.

The door was kicked shut, shoes discarded on the way to the bed, same as Will's guitar, before they toppled onto the mattress.

Tears were falling from his face like rivers, but it wasn't out of pain, not out of misery, not out of anything bad.

Nico was _happy_.

He was so happy he couldn't take it.

He still couldn't believe that had actually happened.

He still couldn't make sense of it all.

Emotions welled up inside him again, taking over and making more tears spill from his eyes as his lips pressed against Will's clumsily, before he started showering his whole face in kisses.

Closer.

He had to get closer.

"Why are you crying?" Will asked, and Nico dimly realized this wasn't the first time he had asked that, though he still couldn't understand _why_ he had to ask, at all.

"Because we're happy." He replied, his voice shaking like the rest of his body, and his hands moved up to touch Will timidly, as if he was a rare flower that could break if touched too roughly.

Therefore, Percy moved and squeezed Will so tightly it almost looked as if he wanted to break him.

"That was the most beautiful song I've ever heard." His boyfriend bawled, and Nico found himself nodding, his lips quivering again.

He hadn't expected it.

None of them had.

Nico had wondered why the Camp Fire had suddenly seemed so important to Will, not to mention why he had been so evasive about what he had been up to with his siblings all day, but…

He'd have never thought…

It was just so…

Will could have played them _any_ song.

Hell, he hadn't even had to play _them_ anything at all.

But if he had really wanted to pick up his guitar again, he could have played _anything_.

Will hadn't.

He had created something new, something beautiful, something _amazing_ , just like that.

For them.

For _them_.

It hadn't just been a song.

It had been a love letter to all three of them, Will's try to let them know what they meant to him, Will's try to show them just _how much_ they meant to him.

Nico couldn't even begin to imagine how much this must have taken from Will, though his exhaustion and the way he had acted during dinner suddenly made much more sense.

He couldn't even begin to imagine how difficult all of this had to have been, and how much Will must have pondered each and every single word he had sung to them, but the fact that he had done it meant more to Nico than _anybody else_ could ever begin to imagine.

Nico knew how much that guitar meant to Will, how _scared_ he had been of playing it again, how torn he had been about ever even playing it again.

The fact he had chosen a song for them, rather than a poem, or a haiku, or anything of the like, already meant so, so much by itself, even without the beauty of the lines, the melody, _everything_.

Nico was in love.

He started kissing Will's face again, and this time, Jason joined in.

Will made a small sound, but let them, and his hands even started pulling Nico on top of him slightly, which made Nico's heart jump so hard he half expected it to leap out of his chest.

They moved, clumsily, awkwardly, but as best as they could, and then, Nico was straddling Will's lap, and their lips brushed together again, trembling and wet.

It was the worst kiss Nico had ever given.

It was the best kiss he had ever had.

"I love you." He croaked out weakly, his voice failing him again as he dragged his lips over Will's skin towards his ears, wishing he had a way to convey his feelings the way Will had done.

Wishing he could reach out to the guys in such a way, too.

But all he had was his voice and his actions, so he would have to make the best of those.

"You're amazing, Will. Absolutely amazing." Percy whispered, clinging to Will's side with his face pressed against his arm.

Jason didn't say anything, pressed against Will's other side and pressing light kisses everywhere he could reach.

Will seemed a bit dazed and out of it, still, petting Percy's hair and keeping his other hand on Nico's shirt as if to keep him close.

He had looked so scared, at first.

When Nico had seen him with his siblings, his guitar in one hand, and a bunch of papers in the other, Nico had first dreaded they had somehow forced him to participate in the Camp Fire songs.

That this was something against his will.

But then his siblings had played and Will had remained in the back, hidden from view, and it had dawned on them that he might actually _want_ to play again.

Though not quite to this extent.

When Will had come forth and sat down on that chair and told them he was going to play his very own song – a song _for his boyfriends_ – it had come as a shock to all three of them, and they had clutched each other at the same time in disbelief, staring in surprise and amazement.

Some kids had laughed and talked when Will had been about to start, and Nico had felt the anger shooting through him that they'd _dare_ to laugh, when it was so obvious how nervous Will was, and how much this meant to him.

His menacing hiss had fixed that immediately, though.

And then Will had started playing…

It had been hesitant at first, and Will had crouched slightly, as if fearing for somebody to attack him – or as if to ward off laughter and/or critique.

Which was laughable, because Nico would have skinned anybody who would have _dared_.

In Nico's eyes, Will had been perfect.

The song had been perfect.

Everything had been perfect.

"You guys are the ones who are amazing. Now, let's stop crying, okay?" Will said softly, and Nico nodded, though they still sniffled slightly.

"I'm glad you liked the song, though." Will added, stroking over Nico's back with one hand now, his other still on Percy's head.

"Of course we did. We loved it." Jason instantly corrected, and Nico watched Will's lips curl into a small smile.

"Thank you."

Why was it that he seemed the tiniest bit sad as he said that?

Nico leaned forward and pressed their lips together again.

"Can I have the lyrics?" Percy sniffled against Will's side, and Jason made a sound that indicated he wanted the same.

Nico was a bit unwilling to let Will pull away, but let him go, anyways, at least for long enough to reply.

"Of course. I'd give you guys anything you want; you should know that by now."

It should be Nico saying that.

He huffed, then cupped Will's face again, covering it in kisses all over again before claiming his lips once more.

His.

His lips.

His Will.

His boyfriends.

All his.

"Guess Nico wants you to give him more attention." Percy remarked – way too cheekily considering that he was still a mess.

Not that Nico really minded, because, well, it was the truth.

Will smirked, though he didn't pull away immediately, instead moving his hands to the back of Nico's head and pulling him in for another series of chaste kisses.

"Oh, I can do that, no problem…" He purred, his lips inches from Nico's, and Nico found himself grinning stupidly.

Yes, this was the Will he knew and loved.

Jason and Percy chuckled quietly, but Nico paid them no mind as Will flipped Nico over and started being the one to shower _him_ in kisses.

Hm, that didn't go as planned.

Oh well.

Nico so didn't mind this whatsoever, either.

Also, he knew he'd get his chance to shower Will in his love again soon enough.

Then again…

Nico put his hands on Will's chest, pushing ever so slightly, and Will pulled back instantly to look down at him in question.

He replied by moving upwards to kiss Will's neck.

"Let _me_ love _you_." He insisted, and found Will blinking surprised, before his lips split into a broad, rather happy grin.

Percy and Jason pushed themselves up to their left and right.

"Oh _yes_ , let me partake in that!" Percy declared, his eyes still red and puffy, which looked weird when he tried to look so determined.

"Me too!" Jason chimed in, and Nico could only laugh and lean up to place some more quick kisses to Will's neck and collarbone, before the guys already lunged at the blonde to shower him in kisses, Jason starting his smooching again that he apparently enjoyed doing so much.

Yes, much better.

They should do this more often.

Will giggled and started glowing slightly.

Oh, they _would_ do this more often.

* * *

 **A/N:**

In my defense, I told Will a thousand times I can't do music, but he didn't wanna listen. Stubborn fool.


	6. Chapter 6: Calling Dibs

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes :D

Thanks for all the amazing feedback on this story so far! :D All the Favs and lovely reviews make my day ;3  
(Once more, I'm sorry for not managing to reply much (or at all -.-) on FFnet. One of these days I'm going to work something out.)

Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter ;D

As a warning, there's some rather rough sex in here, but it's consensual.

Wish you all the best~  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 06: Calling Dibs**

"Will, save me, Jason and Nico are molesting me!" Percy called over, and Will stopped, looking over to his three dorky boyfriends, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Now that's a sentence I never thought I'd hear." He commented wryly as he made his way over to sit down on the bench with them, starting to nibble on his toast.

"So, why are you complaining, exactly?" He asked, winking at Jason and Nico when they grinned at him, before attacking Percy's neck again from both sides.

Weren't they just adorable?

Sure, they were in the dining pavilion, but it was barely 6am in the morning, and there was nobody else around, so it didn't really matter.

Not to them, at least.

"Oh, I'm not. I just really wanted to point it out that Jason _and_ Nico are molesting me. Let me boast a little, will you?" Percy lamented, then whimpered softly when Jason gave his hair a rather harsh-looking tug to expose more of his neck.

Will eyed them warily, watching how Percy shivered and bared his neck and closed his eyes in bliss, while Jason smirked against his skin with a knowing look, _biting_ his neck as his hands moved to tug him closer.

 _Well_.

Will shuddered slightly, concentrating back on his toast.

Percy seemed into it, so it was okay, of course, but…

Well, whatever.

Those two, though.

As far as Will was aware, they still hadn't quite figured out what they felt for each other, but that certainly didn't seem to stop them from getting each other hot and bothered.

Not quite the way Will would have chosen to go about it, but then again he didn't exactly have any right to say anything, since he and Jason had sort of made out long before they had decided to start dating.

Maybe this was their way of figuring it out?

It didn't really sound like something they'd do – unless one considered this was about _them_ , and they _both_ were different when they were together, after all.

Everything was different when they were together.

Will blamed their bromance.

The bromance that had only happened because Percy had _so_ had the hots for Jason but not realized he was actually _not-straight_ (since Will had no idea what sexuality Percy actually identified with).

So, if one thought about it that way, it was Percy's fault.

Though Jason was just as much at fault for letting all of that happen in the first place, too.

Ha, so it was both their faults things were this way.

…Alright, where had Will thought he was going with this?

He glanced sideways at them, and found Percy with his back to Nico and leaning against him, while Jason was in front of him and kissing along his collarbone, his hands moving under Percy's shirt.

Seriously?

Well, Will couldn't say he was really surprised.

Then again, maybe he was, because Percy usually didn't-…

Percy's eyes snapped open and he suddenly pushed Jason back, just to move and capture his lips in a rather forceful kiss, trying to regain some sort of dominance.

Ah, there it was.

Their usual battle about who had the upper hand.

Such children.

Will sighed, wondering faintly whether they'd ever get past that.

Then he wondered whether he should help.

Sure, he had had that thought before, and back then, he had brushed it off and decided to leave them to get there, themselves, but…

If they needed to take this step to actually sort themselves out, maybe he _should_ help.

Will kept nibbling on his toast, his eyes trailing over the empty tables.

It was so strange, having the dining pavilion actually empty.

Not that he really minded.

Today would be another tiring day, he absolutely didn't mind a slow and peaceful start into it.

Then again, waking up screaming and burning up and with Percy dowsing him in water wasn't exactly slow, nor peaceful.

He had woken them up again.

Out of everything about his nightmares, that was what bothered him the most.

It had momentarily been better on the night he had played his song for them, with him jolting awake and still feeling the terror and dread inside him, but not actually screaming and waking everybody around him up, too.

Though when he had come back from the bathroom, Percy had been sitting in bed and waited for his return, tugging him into his arms and giving him the comfort he hadn't known he needed until he had felt himself clutching Percy and allowing him to lull him back to sleep with gentle words and even gentler kisses.

There were a lot of kisses between the four of them.

People still said their relationship was all about sex, but, if it was about anything physical, it was probably kisses.

Just as he thought that, Jason pulled back and turned to give Will a kiss on the cheek.

There, the perfect example.

Wait, why was Jason pulling away from Percy?

Were they done already?

How could they even stop after riling each other up like that?

Will looked around and found a couple of kids walking into the dining pavilion, bleary-eyed and yawning.

Ah, okay, that made more sense, then.

Percy huffed indignantly from between Nico and Jason.

Aww, poor Percy.

"You should go back to the cabin, guys." Will suggested, finishing his toast.

They had sort of only come here because his stomach had rumbled, and the four of them hadn't really been able to fall back asleep after Will's nightmare.

So, now that he had had breakfast, he might as well go to the infirmary and get some work done, while they might be able to sleep a little while longer before work started for them, too.

Since Chiron had decided to be unreasonable and more stubborn than a mule, that meant Percy and Nico would have to give separate lessons again, which they both hated.

Will still didn't see the point of it.

They didn't get 'more' work done, at all.

If anything, the quality of their training had reduced greatly due to their lack of motivation.

Plus, training together gave them a partner they were comfortable and confident with, which meant their moves were more fluid and thus better for kids to watch and learn from.

Now that they were separated, they might be able to teach more kids at once, but at what cost?

Will didn't understand where Chiron thought he was going with this.

In the beginning, he had thought it truly was because of the amount of kids.

Now, he was starting to think somebody had complained about Percy and Nico getting 'sidetracked' every here and there with each other.

Seriously, if anybody had a problem with them dating, they should come up to them and just say it.

Will knew Percy and Nico would cut back on that if there was anybody actually _speaking up_.

Even Chiron could have told them that.

But Chiron hadn't.

Maybe he thought this was just temporary, and that Percy and Nico would get over the change at one point or another and train with their usual vigor.

If so, he was mistaken.

Will had eyes in his head, and his touch could still pick up on people's values and emotional states.

The more time passed, the grumpier and displeased Percy became, and the more resigned Nico was becoming.

Will didn't like either.

They had no idea what was coming, and while Will knew this was serious, and there should be no joking around or the like, he also knew how _important_ it was for everybody to retain at least a certain level of ease, a way to let go and laugh, a way to _live_.

This wasn't just a training camp, this was their _home_.

If they couldn't let go and laugh, and enjoy the days as best as they could, they might as well bury themselves already, because then the fights would come and go and they'd lose sight of what they were even fighting for.

Will could already feel the change in the patients they were getting in the infirmary.

Kids with way too serious looks on their faces; kids that didn't bother chatting about this or that anymore, just wanting to know how to rest their limbs enough to get going again as soon as possible, because there was training to be done.

The last time the camp had been this serious had been during the wars, and even then the Stoll brothers had made sure to pull enough pranks to get at least a few laughs out of everyone.

Now, there was no war.

They weren't sure what was coming, but Will hoped it wouldn't be another war.

"What about you, then? Going to the infirmary already?" Jason asked, and Will nodded, getting up with them.

"Yep. We still have a few patients that had to stay the night, so I want to check on those. Then, there's this giant pile of paperwork I still have to look through. Seriously, never let Alec write any reports." He stated seriously, and Jason and Percy chuckled, while Nico frowned.

"Do you want us to help with anything?"

Aww, so considerate.

Will grinned at him, but shook his head.

"No worries, I'll be fine. You should probably try to sleep a while longer, though. Or at least lay down and rest a bit longer. Oh, and maybe take care of this very hot and bothered Percy here for me." He suggested, and Percy immediately huffed, his ears reddening as his hands brushed over the front of his pants, as if checking whether anything was visible.

Ha.

Nico and Jason shot Percy knowing looks, then Will caught Jason letting his eyes travel down Percy's body, in that rather slow, checking-out sort of way that made him raise his eyebrows.

Even more so when Percy seemed to see it, too, and _refrained from commenting_ , instead looking away again with his blush spreading.

Gods, those two.

Maybe Will really _should_ help.

He caught Nico's gaze, who funnily enough seemed to plead with him to indeed help.

 _Well_.

Alright, he'd have to think about this.

They left the dining pavilion, and Will spotted some more kids leaving their cabins, including his siblings.

Okay, time to go and get some work done, before the infirmary would be buzzing again.

"Alright, guys, I'll be off. Percy, Nico, don't forget you're switched today. Stay safe, keep the kids safe, I don't want any kids with sword injuries in my infirmary." He reminded them, and all three of them gave him amused looks.

"Yes, Doctor Solace." They replied in unison, and Will felt the heat rising in his cheeks.

 _Seriously!_

(It _did_ have such a nice ring to it, though…)

He wanted to reply with a very loving 'Shoo with you', but then Nico and Percy already gave him matching kisses to his cheeks, wishing him good luck, and Jason pecked him on the lips with a 'I'll bring you lunch later'.

Will would lie if he said he didn't love the way they always saw him off like that.

He stood there like an idiot for a moment, feeling warm and fuzzy and as if he was drowning in love.

Then he shook his head and grinned at them, wanting to say something, but unsure what, and even more unsure whether his voice would even work right.

So he just grinned, nodded, waved at them, then turned around and sprinted off towards the infirmary.

They'd understand.

The way they had smiled at him told him they did.

Oh, he loved them so, so much.

But now, it was time for work.

Plus…

Will thought of Percy and Jason and the way they looked at each other, then of the pleading look Nico had sent him.

He had a lot to think about.

How to best help out, if he was to help at all?

Will glanced back over his shoulder, just to find Jason _definitely_ checking Percy out from behind.

Yeah, okay, he was going to help, absolutely.

Oh! How about…

Will grinned to himself.

Yeah, he was _so_ going to have fun with this.

The day surely was off to a great start.

...

"Nico! Nico, save me!" Percy cried, suddenly appearing at the entrance of the arena.

Nico, still in the middle of _training_ , spun around, sword at the ready to fight whatever may be after his boyfriend – but there was nothing.

Just Percy.

Rushing towards him.

Brushing his sword aside with one hand before throwing his arms around him.

What…?

"Percy, what…?" He asked, confused, while his students all frowned and stared at them, all their weapons lowered.

Percy fake-sobbed into his shoulder, and he had a hunch there wasn't actually any immediate danger nearby.

"Percy, what's wrong?" He asked again, patting his boyfriend's back and trying to figure out what it _might_ be.

Percy's classes should have been over already, since Clarisse had very lovingly yelled at them and told them she'd take over the last group for Percy.

(Apparently, all the kids had been utterly horrible at spear fighting, so she had wanted to 'fix' that. Nico had the strong impression Will might have mentioned something to Clarisse about their frustration with Chiron's new planning, and this was her way of helping them. Bless her, really.)

Jason and Will should already be done with their schedules, too, so…everything…should be good…?

"It's horrible, Nico! They were like…Will did…and then Jason came, and then…and then…" Percy wailed dramatically, though he _did_ seem genuinely unnerved.

What?

Had they made out in the dining pavilion again?

Wait, had they _gone further_ in the dining pavilion?

Great, was Nico going to get called to Chiron and get 'the talk' for his boyfriends messing around?

Ugh, better make it quick, then.

"Yes?" He pried, pulling away from Percy slightly to look up at him.

Unnerved was the right word, yes.

Definitely unnerved.

Though more in a fidgety, uncertain sort of way, not necessarily flat out scared or disturbed.

Weird.

Plus, why would Percy mind if those two made out?

Usually, he was all for it, after all.

"They are talking about _deflowering my butt_ , Nico! They're calling dibs on it!" Percy wailed loudly, throwing his arms up, and Nico stared at him in silence for a long moment.

Sadly, the only thing that came to mind was: _Oh, thank the gods, finally_.

Which he decided not to say out loud, for obvious reasons.

"You…do know I'm in the middle of teaching a class, right?" He asked carefully, instead, turning away from Percy and lifting his sword again, while the rest of his class stared at him with wide eyes.

Yep, they had definitely heard.

Nico wasn't sure if there was anybody in or around the arena that _hadn't_ heard Percy's wail right there.

"Do I look like I care? Nico, is this all you have to say to this? How can you be so cruel? They're _calling dibs_ , Nico!" Percy whined, gesturing wildly with his arms and looking near frantic.

Nico shot him a confused look, then gave his class the signal to continue, before tugging Percy over towards a corner.

He checked once more that everybody had their attention back on the dummies in front of them, then he looked back at Percy, studying his expression intently.

"Percy, I thought you're interested in bottoming?" He asked, and felt the heat creeping up to his face, though he pushed it right back down.

Sure, he had never thought he'd say this sort of thing out loud, much less _directly to Percy's face_ , but…well, they had done so many things by now, this should be nothing in comparison.

Percy blushed.

"I…I am! But…but…what if…" He started, starting to fidget slightly, and Nico watched in confusion.

"But what? Did they say something weird? Come on, you know they would never actually do anything to hurt you."

Maybe Will had scared Percy by bringing up a hell lot of medical terms that Percy didn't know of.

Wouldn't be the first time, after all.

"I…I know that, but…but…" Percy mumbled, now somewhat pouting, and his shoulders drooped slightly.

Nico motioned for him to come closer and let his head drop back onto his shoulder, petting his hair.

"Percy, don't worry. They'll take good care of you." He reassured him, only slightly disturbed that he was having this talk in the first place.

Percy sighed.

"I know…but…what if…what if…what if they decide it should be _Jason_ …to…to…you know…" Percy whispered, and Nico blinked.

Wait…

Wait, _that_ was what Percy was worried about?

But that was…wait, what _was_ Percy worried about, exactly?

"I thought you like Jason?" He asked cautiously, though he was absolutely certain Percy _did_.

"I do! I do, but…but…you know…we have this whole challenge thing going on, right? So…"

Oh gods.

Nico's face hardened.

Oh gods, Percy was an _idiot_.

"If you're trying to say you're like this solely because you're scared Jason will get to fuck you before you get to fuck him, I'm going to be mad." He stated unimpressed, and, judging by the immediate wail that followed, he was _right_.

 _Oh gods_!

"There you are, Gorgeous. See? Told you he'd run to Nico. Hey there, my hot, Italian boyfriend. How's training coming along?" Will called over, and Nico pulled away from Percy, shooting him a last, dark look before looking over to Will and Jason entering the arena, grinning at him sheepishly.

Dorks.

"Training was going well, until Percy came and yelled about you two calling dibs on deflowering him." He deadpanned when they were close enough to hear him without everybody else hearing, too, and both Will and Jason winced, though their grins stayed in place.

He wasn't surprised.

"Oh, that. Yeah, I guess we were a little too straight-forward right there…" Will started, scratching the side of his neck and letting his gaze wander over the many kids that were still somewhat training.

Nico knew without looking at least half of them were slacking off, but they had been at this for an hour, the fourth time this week, and he knew they had many more things to do before _they_ could call it a day, so he didn't call them out on it.

Will turned to look at him again, his grin widening ever so slightly.

"So, you want to call dibs, too? Jason and I were thinking of going about this in a very mature and manly way, you know?"

Nico raised his eyebrows, giving him a long look.

"You're going to play Rock-Paper-Scissors, aren't you?" He then asked, and Will beamed at him.

"Yep!"

Yeah, he _so_ wasn't surprised.

Jason rolled his eyes, nudging Will aside to get in front of Nico properly and give him his 'It's good to see you again'-kiss.

"Don't listen to him, Nico. We were mostly joking to see how Percy would react. Then, that dork decided to bail on us and disappeared without a trace. Seriously, he usually can't even outrun a tree-…"

"Those were _dryads_ , Jason, and I told you that _one time_ , why do you have to keep bringing that up?!" Percy wailed from behind him, and Nico sighed deeply.

"Aw, come on, Jason, I'd like to see who would actually win. I mean, it of course wouldn't decide anything for real, and if Percy was uncomfortable, he'd just have to say so, but still, I think it would be interesting to see." Will explained, and Nico watched him giving him a pointed look.

What?

Wait, was this his way of… _oh_ …

Nico shrugged, glancing sideways at Percy.

"I don't mind either way. It's not my butt, after all. Percy?"

"Does that mean you'd play, too?" Will asked, though he should very well know the answer already.

"Nope. I have zero experience with topping, there's no way I'm going to attempt to deflower _anything_ , I'm just saying." He stated with a snort, and Will rolled his eyes, though he didn't seem surprised in the slightest.

Therefore, Jason was shifting awkwardly from one leg to the other, crossing his arms in front of his chest and seeming suddenly troubled.

Oh.

Maybe Nico had phrased that a bit…bad.

"Aww, sweetheart, I so wouldn't mind it if you did-…" Percy started cooing, and Nico shot him another dark look, making him shut up and pout.

"Whoa, what's with _that_ look?" Will asked, his eyes hushing between the two, but Nico only shook his head.

"Percy was being an idiot."

"Ouch. That is a _serious matter_ , Nico!" Percy wailed, and Nico rolled his eyes.

"Only to you, Percy. Literally _nobody else_ cares about _that_." He replied, and Percy stilled, seeming to ponder that for a moment, his eyes hushing over to Jason for the faintest moment.

"You sure?" He then asked, rather timid and meek, and Nico blinked, then frowned, wondering whether Percy had seriously _worried_ about this.

"I'm sure." He said with a small nod, and Will raised his eyebrows, looking from him to Percy and back with a questioning look, though he didn't ask.

"Oh." Was all Percy said, suddenly seeming sheepish again and looking _anywhere_ but at them.

Gods, this guy.

"Well, alright then. Percy, who would _you_ like to have your first time with?" Will asked nonchalantly, and Percy flinched, making a small, despairing sound – before rushing off to 'lend Nico a hand with the kids'.

Which basically meant he ran away to train with a few of the kids, who blanched and seemed frozen in terror at the prospect.

Poor kids.

"What a dork." Will commented wryly.

Dork? Not exactly the term Nico would have chosen, but true, anyways.

"Should I go talk to him? Tell him we won't do that?" Jason asked uncertainly, but Will threw him an almost scandalized look.

"Hell no. Don't you dare, Jason. He _wants_ us to do that, he's just confused who he wants to win. Now even more so, because Nico excluded himself as possibility."

Nico sighed, though he had a hunch Will might be right.

After all, the only thing that had seemed to actually worry Percy was the fact it might turn out to be Jason (which indicated he might actually _want_ it to be Jason) – and that only because he was scared of Jason one-upping him for once.

Gods, what an idiot.

As if Jason cared.

Plus, the day Jason rubbed anything like that in, was also the day Nico would challenge him to a real fight and kick his ass for Percy.

(Though he'd kiss it better, afterwards, of course.)

The three exchanged another look, then Will sighed again with a shrug, already trudging off after Percy.

"I'll go talk to him. Be right back."

They nodded, and Nico saw Percy making a face from where he was ever so subtly watching them, his eyes immediately hushing back to the kids that were more or less trying to strike at him with their various sized training weapons.

"Is it because of me?" Jason asked uncertainly, and Nico wasn't surprised about _that_ , either.

"How so?" He asked instead of answering, turning his back to Percy and Will to give them some 'privacy'.

(As private as things could get when Percy decided to be in the middle of other campers, anyways.)

"Well, I joined them when they were already having a conversation about when Percy would like things to go further, and he didn't run off _then_. He only ran when Will asked whether he's going to have to fight me for Percy's virginity, and I jokingly said 'You can try'. I'm not going to force him into anything, he knows that, right? I didn't even really mean it! I mean…well…in a way, maybe, but it would probably be better if Will got to…I mean…" Jason started stuttering, a blush creeping up his neck, and Nico watched amused, wishing there was a way for him to inconspicuously take a peek beneath his shirt to see whether it was one of those whole-body blushes again.

This was a lot like that one time when Jason and Percy had first actually confronted their issues and Jason had offered Percy a certain something that he had yet to specify what exactly it had been.

(Though he still believed Jason had actually referred to this exact thing back then, and offered Percy to 'take things further' with him, to put it mildly.)

Nico found it surprisingly calming whenever his guys were a nervous mess like this.

Maybe because he was usually the mess, and they were the calm ones.

Sweet revenge.

No, but seriously, Jason was adorable when he got all flustered over Percy and anything sexual that might or might not transpire between them.

That made Nico think of this morning, and the sexual tension that was pretty much _palpable_ between those two at the moment.

Seriously, maybe Jason _should_ be Percy's first.

It wasn't as if he had anything to fear, he had done just fine with Nico, after all.

That thought made Nico's face warm and his heart beat faster, though he refused to be ashamed of himself for his train of thoughts.

No, this was _normal_.

He had had sex with his _boyfriends_.

Nothing wrong with that.

Nothing to be ashamed of.

Nothing to be embarrassed by.

Nope.

He reached out and patted Jason's shoulder, making that dork shush before he broke his pretty head over whatever it was he was worrying about.

"Don't worry, he told me what he's worried about, and it wasn't your possible performance." He replied, knowing full well that wasn't what Jason had actually been saying, but Jason seemed relieved, anyways.

See? They were desperate.

Both of them.

Nico frowned to himself, wondering how it could possibly be so easy to think of Percy, _his Percy_ , and _his Jason_ in this way, to even _wish_ for them to take things further.

Shouldn't he be more…jealous?

Then again, it wasn't as if he wasn't feeling that tug in his gut every here and there, when the guys were all over each other and so absorbed in their doings they didn't even look at Nico.

But…well, all he had to do was move closer and show he wanted some love, too, and…well, they had always included him so far.

He still wasn't sure how other people handled their relationships, but to him, this seemed enough for now.

" _Nico_!" Percy exclaimed in disbelief behind him, and he winced.

What? What had he said?

Oh, the performance thing.

Right.

"Well, it's true!" He shot back with the heat rising in his face, though it was nothing compared to Percy's scarlet ears.

" _Shush_. Just…shush."

Will snorted, moving over to them again with Percy at his side.

"Says the one rushing into my cabin and asking for blowjob help. Not to mention that one time you asked me for advice on Nico's sensitive spots, or that one time with the multiple-…"

"You shush, too, sun-bug!" Percy wailed, hiding his face in his hands.

Yeah…Nico wasn't sure whether Will would _ever_ let him live that down.

Then again, he just might, if he knew just how _good_ Percy was at-…okay, Nico shouldn't think about that _now_.

"Okay, okay. So, guys, I talked it over with Percy, and he says he's okay with us 'playing it out'. In fact, he said he even prefers it that way, because he…" Will started, but then trailed off when Percy shifted and looked as if he wanted to speak for himself.

"I don't want to pick." Percy said, though he wasn't meeting their eyes.

"Understandable. I wouldn't have wanted to, either." Nico replied automatically, and it was the truth.

It had been the most embarrassing and awkward moment in his life when he had tried to indicate he wouldn't mind…having sex, but he knew it would have been ten thousand times worse if they had made him choose who should top him for their first time together.

Plus, in that case, he'd have probably chickened out and locked himself in the bathroom for a few hours, so, yes, he was glad they hadn't actually done that.

Gods, that had been so _nice_ though…

Okay, not a good thing to dwell on.

At least not right now, when it was about Percy, not himself.

Percy seemed to relax slightly, and even managed to send him a small smile, so Nico assumed he had said the right thing to ease his worries.

"Of course. Though, if you preferred it to be-…" Jason started, but was immediately silenced by Will very subtly elbowing him in the ribs, a giant, innocent grin on his face.

He heard a few kids muttering 'And I thought di Angelo was the scary one…' behind him, and couldn't agree more.

"If Jason doesn't want to, then-…" Percy started hurriedly, and this time, it was Nico who did the deed of elbowing him in the ribs, much like how Will had done a moment ago with Jason.

"Guys, stop it. Percy, he's _dying_ to do it. Jason, we've had this conversation earlier. Now, let's do this?" Will asked, that wonderful gleam in his again that he got sometimes, and that always reminded Nico of mischief and the Hermes cabin.

Percy made a high-pitched sound that even had a few kids looking around them in confusion, but other than that, everything seemed okay.

Jason only hesitated a moment longer, then nodded, and Will grinned victoriously, holding up his fist.

"Sure you don't want to join in, Neeks?" Will asked, wiggling his eyebrows at him, but Nico only shook his head.

"I'm good." He replied simply.

He didn't really care for 'first times' much, and, truth be told, he _really_ didn't want to _ruin_ anybody's first time, so he much rather stood back and let them do their thing.

Sure, he was curious, but he had absolutely no problem with waiting and taking things slow in that regard.

Again, he had never even gotten to finger Percy, he wasn't going to try that, nor anything else, out of nowhere _now_.

Though he had a feeling that game was rigged, anyways.

The way Will grinned as if he already knew the outcome also had him guessing already as to who the 'winner' would be.

"Your loss." Will shrugged, though his grin didn't lessen one bit, and Jason shot him a pointed look, before holding up his own fist as well, looking…nervous.

Percy started shifting next to Nico, seeming fidgety and nervous, too, and Nico could only guess what they were both worrying about.

Okay, now he certainly _hoped_ the game _was_ rigged, because those two _definitely_ had to sort things out between them.

"Okay, one turn or three?" Will asked, looking towards Percy, who blinked and jumped slightly, having stared at their fists as if his life depended on it.

"Erm, what?"

 _Gods, Percy, get yourself together._

Instead of laughing or chuckling or throwing Percy an exasperated look, Will smiled at him softly.

"Do you want us to play three rounds or one? To determine the 'winner'?" He repeated, and Percy's ears turned scarlet again.

"Ah…erm…I…three. Three rounds. I think." He stammered, eyes hushing to Jason for maybe the fraction of a second, before he looked _anywhere_ but at him, again.

Okay, now it really _was_ obvious.

"Are we still learning anything here, today?" A kid asked behind them, and Will shot a sour look over his shoulder.

"You again, Dilan. You know, Clarisse said you aren't even half as cocky in her class. Want to join her? It seems your spear-fighting skills are a bit lacking."

Ouch.

Nico sighed and turned around to face his class again.

"Ten minute break, guys. Then we'll do one-on-one's again, so think about who you wish to partner up with. But remember, friends don't always make the best sparring partners, and it's always good to switch things up." He called out to them, and promptly heard Dilan mutter a 'Yeah, we can all see how much _you_ like to switch things up, alright' under his breath, which he decided to pointedly ignore.

"Okay, three rounds, then. Jason, ready?" Will asked, and Nico hoped he hadn't heard anything, though he couldn't be sure.

He took Percy's hand as Percy started fidgeting next to him again.

In a way, he _did_ feel bad for him.

On the other side, there really wasn't anything Percy had to be worried about.

"Okay, let's do this." Will declared, and this time, Jason jumped slightly.

They ignored it, instead watching their hands.

Three, two, one…

Jason held up Rock, Will held up Paper, and Percy stiffened to a board next to him.

"Okay, 1:0 for me. Next round." Will chirped, seeming at complete ease, and Nico bit his lip, hoping this wasn't _really_ just left to luck.

It wouldn't be _bad_ if Will won, but Nico simply had a hunch it would be better if…

Will held up Rock, Jason held up Paper, and Percy clutched Nico's hand as if his life depended on it.

"Alright, 1:1. Good one, Jason. Could have sworn you'd use Scissors, next." Will chirped, absolutely unbothered, and Nico swallowed, giving Percy's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Alright, last round.

Jason hopped slightly on his feet, his eyes glued to their hands just as badly as Percy's, and Nico shot Will a pleading look, all pretense discarded.

But Will only smiled at him softly, reassuringly, and went on to their final round.

Please, please, _please_.

…Wow, he'd have never guessed he'd be rooting for Jason to get Percy's first time.

Amazing, what a little time could do…

Everybody seemed to hold their breath, all their focus on their hands.

Three…two…one…

Jason held up Scissors.

Will held up Paper.

 _Yes!_

Will chuckled, while Jason looked between relieved and panicked, his eyes _immediately_ on Percy…who was staring back at him with wide eyes and a small, high-pitched sound escaping his lips.

Oh gods, _Percy_!

"I guess that settles it." Nico remarked, pulling his hand away from Percy's to prevent himself from grabbing hold of him and shaking some sense into him.

If he reacted like that, Jason was bound to think he didn't want him, when in fact he _did_ want him, and it was all just-… _ugh_!

"Sure does. Told you he's dying to do you, Perce. Well, anyways, now that this is all said and done, how about you go on ahead back to our cabin, yeah? No worries, I'll take care of Nico for you." Will chirped, and Nico turned his head ever so slowly to shoot him an unimpressed look.

Oh really?

Why did _that_ sound as if he was trying to…

"Are you trying to get us laid?" Percy asked, his voice _slightly_ higher than usual, and Nico would lie if he said he didn't find it absolutely adorable.

"That depends on whether you want us there for your first time with Jason, or whether you'd prefer to, you know, be alone with him. Wouldn't know your preferences, after all." Will shot back absolutely unperturbed, and Nico's eyebrows shot up.

Somehow, he had sort of expected to…well, to leave them to it, really.

While he wouldn't mind being there, and watching them make out had so far not bothered him in the slightest (quite the contrary, actually, but nobody had to know), he kind of doubted they'd be able to really be comfortable enough with each other to go further…

"Nothing _has_ to happen, either. It's not like we had some sort of deal saying the 'winner' has to rip your clothes off the very same hour." Jason put in hesitantly, but Will just waved off.

"We all know that, Jace. Well, we _should_ know it, anyways. But seriously, you should get going. You're distracting Nico from training kids properly." He pointed out, and Nico partly wanted to argue that, partly wanted to agree with it, and partly knew he was right.

"Then why aren't you coming with us?" Percy asked skeptically, and Will wiggled his eyebrows at him, moving his arm around Nico's shoulders as he leaned closer.

"Because there's a certain kid I want to have a little chat with. No biggie, though. I'll keep Nico company for the rest of the training, then we'll join you. You can use your free time however you want. If you pick a movie, though, make sure it's one we can all bear to watch…that means no 'Finding Nemo', no 'The Little Mermaid', and no 'Hercules'." Will added, and Nico rolled his eyes.

"Will is right, guys. If it's all four of us here, Chiron is bound to get upset again. Will can help me with the vital points and the like. We'll be fine." He assured both Jason and Percy, and they both shot each other quick looks, before looking away and nodding quietly.

"Okay…" Percy mumbled, already making for the exit, though he suddenly stopped and came stumbling back, pressing his lips to Nico's cheek.

"See you later." He muttered, though he sounded almost uncertain.

Damn, Percy, you were about to get laid, not murdered.

"Have fun, cuore mio." He replied with a reassuring smile, and Percy took a deep breath and nodded, moving over to Will to give him a goodbye kiss, too.

"You two are too cute. Yes, see you later, you dorks. Enjoy yourselves."

Oh gods, Will, that was so not making things easier for them.

Jason gave them their kisses, too, then those two were on their way, walking next to each other with so much space between them both Will and Nico could have fit in the gap.

Will put his arm back around Nico, and they both watched them go with matching sighs.

"You think they're really going to…do anything?" He asked doubtfully, and Will's lips spread into a broad grin.

"Oh, I'm counting on it. So, just for the record, you wanted me to help them out, right? Not that I just set them up when you're completely against it."

Nico's head shot around, his eyes searching Will's.

"So the game _was_ rigged!" He exclaimed, and Will snorted.

"Of course. You think I'd leave something that important up to luck? Nah. How did you know, though?" Will asked, wiggling his eyebrows at him from the side, and Nico rolled his eyes.

"I didn't. I was hoping for it, but I wasn't sure, no."

Will huffed and pulled his arm away, acting aghast.

"What? You weren't rooting for me? How cruel!"

Nico shot him a pointed look, and Will chuckled.

He didn't have to say it; they both knew the same thing.

"Alright, fair enough. Still, I think they'll be just fine. It will be awkward, and Percy is bound to make a scene, but before we know it, those two will be all over each other. Hey, that means there's enough time for a little _date_ , sweetest." Will suddenly piped up, wiggling his eyebrows at him all over again.

He did that _a lot_ these days.

Nico rolled his eyes and shrugged his arm off, turning to face his class again.

"I'll think about it, if you get me through this last lesson in one piece. No more distractions, else we'll get in trouble, and you know it."

"Yes, sir. Ah, that reminds me. Nico, lend me your sword for a moment." Will chirped, and Nico moved automatically to pass his Stygian Iron sword to him, only questioning it a moment too late, when Will already had it and started moving.

"Wait, why do you…"

" _Dilan, you little shit_! Get your ass over here, I'm gonna duel the fuck out of you!"

Nico stopped dead in his tracks and stared, speechless and wide-eyed.

 _Oh gods_.

...

This had been a horrible idea.

Jason tried to make his foot stop tapping the ground, but it was pointless.

Gods, what had Will been thinking?

Why had Jason gone along with it?

He should have known it was a bad idea.

Really, he should have let Will 'win'.

Percy was _clearly_ uncomfortable, after all.

Jason glanced sideways at Percy, who sat on the other end of the bed and wasn't looking at him, fidgeting with his hands with a forcefully blank look.

Yes, definitely uncomfortable.

Jason tried to ignore the way his heart ached at seeing Percy this bothered.

He had _known_ this had been a bad idea.

Seriously, why had he even done it?

…Because Will had almost made it sound as if Percy might just want this just as much as Jason did.

Oh, Jason wanted this.

He didn't care whether it was Percy's first time or his hundredth, he just finally wanted to _go further_ with Percy.

And Will had made it sound as if Percy wanted the same…

But, clearly, the blonde must have been wrong.

Percy hadn't even looked at him properly ever since Jason had 'won'.

Gods, he'd be so upset if he knew Jason and Will had cheated, too.

Jason still felt guilty about that.

Seriously, he shouldn't have listened to Will.

He shouldn't have done this.

He shouldn't be doing this now.

Jason suppressed the urge to sigh, knowing it would only upset Percy.

Instead, he turned to look at his boyfriend, daring to shift closer.

"Percy…" He started, intent on letting him know it was okay, that he wasn't going to try anything, that Percy could relax.

He never got that far though, because the moment he came closer, Percy jumped up and off the bed.

"I'm taking a shower." He announced, and Jason blinked, taken aback.

This time, he didn't even try to push down the pain building in his chest.

Ouch.

Well, that settled it, then.

This had definitely been a mistake.

Jason took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay. Do you want me to-…" He started, hoping Percy would at least be willing to watch a movie with him.

"No. I can shower alone." Percy cut in, and Jason blinked again.

What? Oh…

Jason looked down at his feet, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Okay. Do you want me to put in a movie?" He tried again, though he hoped Percy wouldn't feel stupid for assuming Jason would seriously…

Well, under different circumstances…

If Percy wasn't quite this _against_ Jason…

Then, maybe Jason would have actually…considered it…maybe…

But, yeah, no.

"Sure, do whatever. I'll…be right back." Percy replied after a moment's hesitation, moving towards the bathroom at a brisk pace.

"Okay." Jason instantly said, getting up and looking around for the DVDs they had dumped all over the place (well, Percy and Will had).

Seriously, he should have let Will win.

Should have gone against what they had agreed on, with Will pointing out what he wanted Jason to pick next.

He should have simply held up Rock, then Will would have won, and Percy would have absolutely loved it.

Yeah, Percy would have probably grabbed Will and dragged him off without even saying goodbye.

Gods, what had Jason been thinking, going along with this madness?

He glanced back at Percy, just to catch him looking at him over his shoulder – then Percy suddenly ran straight into the doorway of the bathroom.

"You okay?" Jason asked, concern rushing through him as he made to move over, while Percy cursed and waved off and hissed and seemed to try and flee into the bathroom with a wild, embarrassed expression.

Sadly, he was still looking around at Jason, and the next moment, he ran right into the doorway _again_.

"Percy…" Jason moved towards him, cringing at just _how much_ this seemed to bother Percy.

He really shouldn't have gone along with this.

"I'm fine!" Percy all but yelled, then rushed inside the bathroom and slammed the door shut, locking it from the inside.

Jason stopped three steps away from the door, feeling lost and…rather hurt.

He had guessed Percy would be more comfortable having his 'first time' with Will or Nico, but he hadn't thought it would bother him this much if he had it with Jason.

In fact, Percy had seemed to _like_ the way the two of them were with each other.

They certainly enjoyed making out, Jason _knew_ Percy liked that.

Plus, they had even had a talk about this whole thing, right?

Percy had _said_ he'd like to do more with Jason…right?

Then why not now?

Because it would be Percy's first time bottoming?

Was that really a big deal to Percy?

Somehow, such things had never really been of any importance to Jason.

He had cursed his _lack_ of experience plenty enough times when he and Will had gotten closer, but he doubted it would have actually influenced anything.

It had been Will to say they should wait and that he wouldn't let things escalate between them in the past, not Jason.

Jason wouldn't have minded.

He wouldn't mind if Percy got to have Jason's 'first time', either.

Did it really matter?

Plus, Percy would probably do a much better job at topping than Jason would, given that he had more experience with it now than Jason did.

…Maybe this was what Percy was worried about.

Maybe he did think that Jason wouldn't be any good, even if Nico had assured Jason that wasn't the case.

Maybe Percy had simply not told him that, or not all of it, and it actually did bother him.

Jason sighed deeply and moved to pick up some of the DVDs, looking for something they could watch.

What if Percy really thought he'd be no good?

What if Jason _wouldn't_ be any good?

He hadn't exactly _helped_ Will in any way back when they had had their little orgy, after all.

In fact, he'd have really mostly winged it if Percy had actually been okay with this and wanted them to go further.

Jason closed his eyes and grabbed the first DVD from the pile he had just put together next to the TV, putting it in without even looking at it.

But Percy wasn't okay with this.

Jason was an idiot.

Oh well, at least he hadn't done anything stupid yet.

Who knew, if Percy hadn't made it quite _this_ obvious he didn't want this to happen with Jason, he might have actually made a move on him, and then things would have definitely been much, much worse.

The last thing he wanted was for Percy to think he was going to jump him against his will or anything.

Jason flopped down on the bed, and heard a groan from the bathroom.

Yeah, same.

He buried his face in his hands and let out another deep sigh – then frowned and glanced towards the bathroom.

Wait…what was Percy _doing_ in there, exactly?

No, that wasn't any of Jason's business.

Plus, it was probably nothing.

Nothing like the things Jason's mind was coming up with right now, anyways.

He rolled his eyes at himself and buried his face back in his hands once more.

At least it wasn't too late to call it all off.

He had already said back in the arena that this didn't _have_ to lead to anything, that they didn't _have_ to do anything while they were in here, so there was that.

Now, he only had to wait for Percy to come back, then he could just tell him they were good, that they should wait, that he had decided it would be better if Will did this sort of thing with Percy.

He heard the water shutting off in the bathroom and straightened up again, hurriedly grabbing the remote to start the movie.

Percy hadn't brought clothes with him to the bathroom, had he?

Maybe Jason should bring him some.

But Percy might misinterpret Jason moving over as him trying to jump him once he gets out.

…Percy really shouldn't be scared about that.

Seriously, what was Jason doing here?

He should have let Will win.

There were footsteps, then the door unlocked, and Jason looked around against his better judgement, suddenly confronted with a very wonderful looking Percy in nothing but the boxer shorts he had put on just this morning (right in front of Jason, too, which he had appreciated _a lot_ ).

He felt his heart thumping a bit faster and louder in his chest, and swallowed as his eyes swept up and down Percy's body for a moment, before settling back on his face and meeting his gaze.

Percy looked…determined, yet also uncertain.

Yeah, he clearly didn't want this to happen with Jason.

"That was fast." Jason pointed out lamely, though it certainly was true.

Percy usually didn't take very long showers to begin with, but this had been, what, seven minutes?

"Yeah…" Percy replied awkwardly, then Jason watched him hesitate on his way to the bed, momentarily glancing towards his travel bag.

Wait, was he thinking of putting on clothes?

Oh, he probably was.

Just because he liked to lounge around in nothing but his boxer-shorts in the evenings/mornings, didn't mean he'd like to do so in the early afternoon.

Especially not with Jason right here and this whole mess with his first time and all.

But then, Percy didn't make a beeline for his clothes.

Instead, he moved over to the bed and let himself drop facedown onto the mattress, right next to Jason.

Jason couldn't help but smile, reaching out to stroke through his hair tentatively.

"So, Percy…" He started, and noticed his mouth suddenly seemed rather dry as he tried to gather the right words for what he was about to say.

Percy turned his head sideways, sea-green eyes gazing up at him, and not making this any easier on Jason whatsoever.

Oh, he wanted Percy, alright?

He absolutely, seriously did.

He wanted to kiss him, wanted to touch him, wanted to rile him up the same way he had done today in the morning, the same way he had done the past days, and then he wanted to go further, wanted to make Percy moan and groan and gasp and succumb to Jason, wanted him to plead for him to take him, wanted to feel him moving against Jason the same way he had tried back when Will had pushed him down.

Jason wanted to push him down, too.

Gods, he was such a creep.

The realization made him pull his hand back, swallowing the bitter taste in his mouth as he looked away from Percy.

"Maybe we should wait with the whole sex-thing." He said quietly as Percy sat up next to him.

Percy sucked in a deep breath, and Jason glanced sideways at him automatically, just to see his shoulders slump slightly.

What?

Had he said something wrong?

Or was Percy just relieved?

"Oh." Was all his boyfriend replied, and Jason swallowed, scratching the side of his neck awkwardly as he found himself rushing to explain.

He wasn't even sure why, but the words tumbled out of his mouth, anyways.

Hell, he was even fidgeting and licking over his lips in his nervousness.

"I mean, it's clear you're- I mean, _we_ are uncomfortable with this, and I'd never do anything against your will, so…" He babbled, but Percy merely sighed, looking down at his lap.

"Yeah, I figured as much."

Why was it that he sounded so bitter when he said that?

"I'm not going to jump you, Percy. Seriously, it's okay. We can wait, and I can tell Will you'd prefer it if he-…"

"I don't really care." Percy muttered, and Jason was thrown off track once more.

"I…well, you certainly seem uncomfortable with the idea of it being _me_ , so I thought…"

"Oh, I don't mind." Percy very unhelpfully said, and confusion filled Jason to the core.

What…?

Seriously, what did Percy _want_?

The way he had been all awkward and distant had made it _obvious_ he didn't want to do this with Jason, why was he making it sound as if he had no problem whatsoever with it now?

Had he somehow resigned himself to his fate in the shower?

Was this about their rivalry?

Did he think if he didn't follow up on his words now, Jason was going to tease him about it later?

…No, Percy should know him well enough by now to know he would never make fun about something like this.

Jason swallowed, licking over his lips again awkwardly as he adjusted his glasses.

"Well, you're acting as if you think I'm going to jump you any moment, so, really, it's no problem if you rather have-…."

"Dude, if you don't want to do it, just say it." Percy cut in with a small laugh, and Jason inwardly cringed at how _bitter_ it sounded.

"I…wait, _what_?" He asked, now _definitely_ confused.

Percy rolled his eyes.

"Jason, seriously, you're kind of acting as if this is some sort of punishment, you know? Being all distant and quiet and weird? I mean, I'm guessing you wanted Will to win, right?"

Jason stared at him, and he was dimly aware he might be gaping a little, too.

He…what?

What?

 _What_?!

"Percy, I'm only keeping my distance because _you're_ acting weird." He pointed out as he tried to get his bearings again, his mind spinning as he tried to make sense of Percy's words.

"No, I'm not." Percy retorted, and Jason shot him a dark, pointed look.

Seriously, they both knew he was acting just as uncomfortable as Jason was.

Maybe he should point it out.

Jason was already opening his mouth to do just that, when he suddenly found himself hesitating, something nagging at the back of his mind.

Wait…

If Percy only acted distant and uncomfortable because _Jason_ was acting distant and uncomfortable…did that mean he actually _really_ didn't mind?

Plus, what had been up with that bitter tone when he had asked him whether he had wanted Will to win?

Not to mention his claim that Jason thought of this as some sort of punishment (which was the craziest thing he had ever heard, and as far from the truth as it could get).

Had Percy…maybe…

Jason bit his lip, then gazed at Percy again, who met his gaze with a skeptical one of his own, his ears turning red.

Wait…

"Oh? So you don't mind that I won?" He asked, noticing his voice was a tad lower than a moment ago.

Then he noticed Percy shivering as if in response, and Jason's lips split into a grin as he started moving closer.

Could it be…

"Could it be that you even _wanted_ me to win? You sounded pretty bitter right there, Percy…" He pointed out mercilessly, his voice a low purr, and Percy promptly made a face, tearing his gaze away from Jason's lips to glower at him, though he wasn't denying anything immediately, and his blush was only deepening.

That was already answer enough for Jason.

"I…I said I don't care…" Percy mumbled meekly, his breathing slightly irregular, and his eyes already hushing back down to Jason's lips as he licked over his own.

Jason's grin widened as he moved closer, and for a moment, Percy shifted backwards slightly, though it seemed more to get onto the bed a bit more, rather than to get away from Jason.

"Sure you don't." Jason replied, his hand moving to stroke over Percy's cheek to the back of his neck, and he watched his boyfriend swallowing thickly, though he made no move to stop him or pull away.

In fact, when Jason pulled him forward for their lips to meet, Percy _was_ moving on his own accord for the most part, making Jason's lips twitch before Percy's were suddenly on them.

 _Yes_.

Maybe this wasn't all that bad, after all.

Percy seemed to practically melt against him, his arms moving around him instantly, though Jason found him hesitating the very next moment, as if realizing what he was doing.

Jason didn't give him a chance to ponder his actions for very long, instead pushing against him more and urging him backwards onto the bed further, so he could have more space and get on top of him properly.

He nudged against Percy's lips with his tongue, and Percy met it with his own no second later, gasping ever so softly and making Jason's heart go crazy in his chest.

Their kiss wasn't gentle and soft to begin with, but that was nothing compared to how wild and frantic it became the moment Percy tilted his head and pulled Jason closer.

Jason pushed him down into the mattress, making him gasp again, then he nudged his legs apart to get between them, before he remembered he had hands.

Hands that could touch Percy.

A mostly naked Percy.

Jason made a low, appreciative sound in the back of his throat, and promptly felt Percy shivering in response.

His hands started stroking up and down Percy's sides, relishing in the way his skin seemed to heat under his very touch, even though Jason was rather cool.

Then he had to decide whether he wanted to push their bodies together further by laying down on top of Percy, or whether he rather wanted to explore Percy's body with his hands.

He decided for the latter, tugging on Percy's bottom lip with another appreciative grumble escaping him, his hands roaming his body.

Percy moaned softly.

Then he gasped as Jason's fingers found his nipple.

Seriously, Percy _liked_ that.

Jason grinned to himself, opening his eyes to gaze down at Percy, watching his face scrounge up as he tried to hold in what was undoubtedly another moan or gasp – and thus something Jason _definitely_ wanted to hear.

He wanted to hear Percy liking this.

Wanted to hear him gasp and moan and groan.

Wanted to hear him pant Jason's name and hear him plead for more.

Wanted to watch him writhe beneath him, ready to be taken.

Jason was growling again, the sound low and possessive, and Percy moaned, pulling him closer instinctively as he pushed his chest against Jason's hand.

"You like this?" Jason asked, his voice low and sounding unusually predatory, though Percy certainly didn't seem to mind, shivering in response before opening his eyes and looking up at him with dilated pupils and an expression of pure sin.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about…" Percy replied breathlessly, and Jason pinched his nipple, promptly making him gasp and groan, his head pushing back into the pillow, while his chest pushed against Jason's hand further.

Gods, he did seem to want this, huh?

"Are you sure?" He asked, knowing full well he was teasing, and Percy squinted at him with one eye, his expression telling him to shut up and continue.

That alone made Jason work hard to suppress his grin, instead pulling back.

"I guess you don't want me to continue, then." He retorted nonchalantly, and even before his fingers left Percy's nipple, he felt him pulling him closer, his expression changing to one of horror.

"No! _Please_ …"

Jason's eyebrows shot up, and Percy's face turned scarlet, his mouth snapping shut.

Wow.

Wow, his voice right then and there…

Yes, Jason had most definitely liked that.

"So you _do_ like it." He pointed out, and before Percy had the chance to argue, he leaned down and pressed their lips together again, his thumb stroking over his nipple once more as his other hand moved up to Percy's forehead, keeping him firmly in the sheets.

Gods, yes, he definitely liked that.

Percy gasped, then groaned, and Jason let go of his lips to attack his neck, tugging on his skin as his fingers kept playing with his nipple, then switched to the other one.

More.

He wanted more.

"W-wait…" Percy suddenly gasped, and Jason forced himself to let go of the rather nice spot he had just found at the side of his neck, instead pulling back to look down at Percy in question.

"Yes?" He asked, breathless and low and hungry, though he knew he'd immediately stop if Percy told him to.

Even if he certainly didn't _want_ to stop.

Percy's face flushed a darker shade of red, then he swallowed and looked away, seeming oddly flustered.

"I…you're still dressed. Completely." He mumbled awkwardly, and Jason glanced down at himself.

Yeah, he guessed he was.

His lips twitched into a crooked grin, and he moved to bring his face closer to Percy's, who seemed to blush even more profusely.

"Does that mean you want me to get undressed, Percy?" He purred, and Percy huffed weakly, looking _anywhere_ but at him.

Jason would lie if he claimed he didn't love turning Percy into a flustered mess.

"Well, it's kind of difficult to have sex when you're still dressed, right?"

Smartass.

Jason wasn't perturbed whatsoever.

Instead, he leaned down and captured Percy's bottom lip between his teeth, giving it a quick, more or less gentle tug.

 _His_.

Percy was his.

"So you want to have sex with me, huh?"

Percy made a weak sound, his blush deepening.

"I…I…isn't that what you were going to…I mean…"

Jason moved his hand from Percy's forehead into his hair, threading his fingers through it and giving it a tug as he leaned down to push their lips together for a few open-mouthed, rather messy, and deeply satisfying kisses.

"Is that what you want?" He asked huskily, knowing full well what he was doing.

But Percy wasn't going to get out of this.

Jason wanted to _hear_ it.

Wanted to hear him say it.

 _Needed_ to hear him say it.

"I…I said I don't mind…" Percy argued, and Jason's fingers pinched his nipple again, making him gasp and jump slightly.

He 'didn't mind', huh?

No, Jason couldn't work with that.

Nope.

Jason smirked, pinching his nipple some more until Percy was panting so wonderfully again.

"You like that?" Jason repeated his earlier question, and Percy bit his lip as if to keep himself from speaking, his gaze instantly anywhere but on Jason again.

Percy was way too expressive to act innocent, though.

Not that Jason didn't love this rather coy side of Percy's.

Gods, yes.

"I…can't you just…seriously, just _do_ it, Jason…" Percy mumbled, and Jason stroked through his hair again slowly, tugging on the strands lightly on purpose.

"Are you sure you want me to? Wouldn't want to do anything against your will, after all." He replied innocently, and Percy's eyes met his for a fleeting moment, his expression between need and exasperation.

"Just do what you want!" He exclaimed, and Jason didn't like how much he liked those words.

Though that didn't stop him from pinching Percy's nipple again as he moved his face close enough to _almost_ let their lips touch.

Percy even tried to meet them, but Jason's other hand still kept him down firmly.

"Oh, you have no idea what I want, Percy." He purred against his lips, and felt Percy shiver beneath him so wonderfully again, his pupils dilating again.

Gods, Percy shouldn't look at him like that.

He really, _really_ shouldn't.

It made Jason feel as if he wanted this, wanted Jason this way, and that only made him want to do it all the more.

But there was no way Percy could possibly even know just _what_ Jason wanted.

Jason had never felt this way before.

This urge to push him down, this urge to _dominate_ , this urge to take him apart and put him back together…gods, Jason should not be doing this.

He should not be giving into this.

But as he thought it, his lips were already back on Percy's, his hand pulling away from Percy's chest in order for him to drop down on top of Percy, drawing a needy gasp from his boyfriend as he felt his arms and legs wrapping around him tightly.

 _Yes_.

Yes, Percy was _his_ , and he _knew_ it.

He tilted his head slightly, and Percy went right along with it to allow him to deepen the kiss, a low hum escaping him.

Jason wanted to hear more.

He moved, both of his hands in Percy's hair now as he held onto it and tugged and moved his fingertips over Percy's scalp as if to massage, his body grinding fluidly against Percy's.

Percy groaned into the kiss, shivering again and again and again.

 _His_.

Jason was going to make him say it.

He was going to make him tell Jason just how much he wanted him, how much he was liking this, how much he wanted Jason to continue.

Percy tried to push up against him again, but Jason pushed him down ruthlessly, even getting out of his hold to pin his arms down at the sides of his head.

 _His_.

Jason claimed those lips once more, and Percy let out a needy whimper, trying to return the kiss, but Jason pulled back immediately again.

Faintly, he thought he remembered something like this, but he didn't immediately know what it was, until their Truth or Dare game in the Underworld shot through his dazed mind.

 _Nico had done this before._

The memory did two things for Jason.

First, it made him realize Percy had _liked_ it, which meant he might very well like _this_ , too.

Second, it made him realize _Nico had done this_.

Jason wanted to be the only one doing this.

He growled against Percy's lips, then pulled Percy's arms up to pin them above his head with one hand, his other hand tilting Percy's head to the side to get perfect access to his already ravished neck.

Will would have to heal those hickeys later.

…No. Jason didn't want them gone.

He wanted Percy to keep them, to show everybody he was Jason's.

 _His_.

Something nagged at the back of his mind, but he brushed it off as his teeth and tongue raked over Percy's skin, getting high on those luscious sounds Percy was making.

He knew he wasn't gentle.

He couldn't be.

Instead, he moved down to the base of Percy's neck and _bit_ , using more teeth than tongue, and Percy cried out softly.

 _Yes_.

More, he wanted more.

He sucked on Percy's skin, abandoning his neck for his collarbones, then his chest, and Percy writhed beneath him, gasping and whimpering in response to his rather harsh treatment, and Jason loved it.

He teased him mercilessly, pulling back whenever Percy dared to push against him, and by the time he reached Percy's nipples, his boyfriend looked as if he was _actually_ going to cry.

It was that sight, and the realization that he _liked_ seeing Percy like that, that made Jason blink, pulling back as he realized what the hell he was even doing.

How could he just…what the…why would he…no.

No, this was _wrong_.

This was…this was what _Kyle_ would do!

Percy wailed beneath him, but Jason shook his head, even as Percy's arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him back down and trying to push their lips together again, his expression screaming 'I want you!'.

"Don't. Percy, _stop me_." He whispered frantically, trying to pull away again, but Percy didn't want to let him go.

"Why would I do _that_?" Percy asked dazedly, looking almost _euphoric_ as he seemed to relish in the fact he was allowed to touch and kiss Jason at his heart's content again, which disturbed Jason even more.

Mostly because he absolutely loved it, and he shouldn't be loving that, he shouldn't be wanting this.

He wasn't Kyle.

"I'm going to hurt you, Percy." He said softly, but Percy merely huffed against his skin as he rubbed his entire body against Jason rather shamelessly.

"I'd like to see you try, Sparky."

Gods, that shouldn't sound as alluring as it did.

Jason's hands moved to Percy's sides, wanting to grab hold of him, wanting to push him back down, wanting to grind down against him properly, wanting to claim him as his all over again and show him his place, make him stop spoiling himself and-…gods, what _was_ this?!

He pulled his hands back, shaking his head again and trying to make Percy let go of him so he could _explain_.

But Percy whined the moment he made to sit up, and Jason automatically stilled, letting him pull him right back down into his way too tempting embrace.

How was he supposed to resist him when Percy was basically inviting him to do as he pleased?

Percy's hands ventured down his body to the waistband of his jeans, and Jason felt himself swallowing thickly as shaky fingers brushed over his hard-on.

Oh gods.

Gods, Percy, no.

If he actually…

Percy popped open his button and tugged down his zipper, and Jason already had his hands back in Percy's hair and his face pressed into the crook of his neck before Percy even wrapped his fingers around his dick.

They both groaned, their sounds unnaturally loud in the quiet cabin, but neither of them dwelled on it as Percy started stroking him, and Jason moved to bite Percy's neck desperately at various spots, sucking on his skin and brushing his tongue over said spots harshly afterwards, leaving more and more red marks.

"Fuck, _Jason_ …" Percy panted, and for some reason, that made Jason see reason again, and he tried to pull back again.

No, Percy didn't _understand_.

Percy whimpered, then wailed, then _growled_ at Jason, and Jason instinctively growled back, his grip on Percy tightening all over again, the urge filling him to _show him his place_.

No.

"Percy, you can't…"

" _Jason_!" Percy interrupted him, sounding hurt, upset, _betrayed_ at him retreating again, and Jason growled at him, shoving him back into the sheets and towering over him.

"Percy, let me speak, damn it!" He snarled, and for whatever reason ever, Percy instantly bared his throat to him, a submissive gesture he knew only all too well from his time with Lupa and her wolves, and a sight that got to him in ways he had never thought possible.

But…but he couldn't…

Jason leaned down, nipping at his skin and realizing that, in fact, he _could_.

He shouldn't, but he _did_.

Oh gods.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, which automatically made him inhale Percy's salty scent, the smell like aphrodisiac to his already turned-on self.

Oh. _Gods_.

He pulled back again, unable to help himself, and his lips moved as he started talking, trying to explain to Percy what was happening, _what he wanted to do_ , but instead of his voice coming out weak and pleading, it was low and predatory and _by the gods, what was he even doing_?!

Percy, that idiot, prove not to be helpful in any way whatsoever either.

Instead of doing something sensible, like sitting up and moving away, or stopping Jason from coming closer, he was _dragging Jason down with him_ , looking alluring and seductive and wonderful, with his lips parted and eyelids fluttering shut as he gasped softly, as if there was _nothing_ better in the world than what Jason was telling him.

Gods, didn't he _listen_?!

"Percy, don't…" He started, but then Percy clasped his hand over his mouth, making the rest of his sentence indistinguishable.

Not that anything coherent would have left his mouth with Percy making _that_ expression at him.

He looked as if he _wanted_ all of this, just as much as Jason wanted it, and it was driving him crazy.

Seriously, he was already having a hard enough time restraining himself from the way Percy _writhed_ beneath him and rubbed their bodies together, practically pleading for Jason to cave in and ravish him. He didn't need any additional temptation.

But Percy himself seemed to be pure temptation right now.

"Stop it, Jason. Don't talk like that, teasing me and not following up on it. Just freaking _do_ it."

Jason's heart seemed to miss a few beats, and his hands grabbed firmer hold of Percy instead of pushing him away, and his boyfriend seemed to even try and _lean into_ the touch.

"Percy, I…" He tried again, trying to make him _understand_.

Percy, however, shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Don't make me say it, Jason. I swear, you might have managed to…to turn me into _this_ , but I will _not_ admit to liking it! I won't! So just…just _do_ it, Jason. _Please_!"

Jason stilled, staring down at Percy in surprise and disbelief.

Wait…

Jason's eyebrows shot up, realization surging through him, while Percy still had his eyes tightly shut, trembling slightly beneath him.

Oh.

 _Oh_.

The predatory grin tried to make its way back onto Jason's face, and this time, he let it, already making to move closer, his hands loosening their hold on Percy solely so he could stroke over his sides appreciatively.

"So you _want_ me to push you down and make you beg for it? Damn, Percy, who'd have thought?" He teased in a low, dangerous voice, and Percy's eyes snapped open, fixing on him in a mixture of indignity and anxiety.

Jason got rid of both by capturing his lips in a kiss.

"Shut…shut up, Jason…you have no right to comment…" Percy whispered as he pulled away, but Jason chased after him, his hands snapping up to push Percy down properly again.

If Percy liked this, who was Jason to deny him that?

"Tell me if I have to stop." He said, and intercepted the indignant huff Percy was trying to let out.

He _would_ stop if Percy told him to.

Until then, though…

Jason moved back between Percy's legs properly, rubbing their bodies together again as he regretted the fact he was still wearing clothes, though that didn't stop him from nipping at Percy's collarbone and appreciating that _he_ wasn't dressed anymore.

Next to those annoying boxer shorts of his, of course.

But Jason could get rid of those.

Oh, he _would_ get rid of those.

"I swear, if you stop, I'm going to shove Riptide up your ass next chance I get." Percy rasped, and Jason grinned up at him cockily.

" _Somebody_ seems eager to get fucked."

Percy's eyes widened in shock, while his face turned a deeply satisfying shade of crimson, and Jason's grin only got bigger as he watched.

"Just…just get going, Jason. Seriously, you're just…just trying to buy time. What, think you can't do it?" Percy faintly tried to tease, tried to challenge him, tried to get him to do something undoubtedly stupid.

Sadly, it worked, and Jason had Percy's arms pinned above his head and his lips and free hand on his nipples the very next moment, making Percy gasp and cry out softly.

"You'll eat those words, love." He remarked darkly, tugging on Percy's overly sensitive skin as he started moving downwards, realizing there was so much more to explore, though he couldn't resist grinding against Percy once, twice, three times, making both of them gasp, though Percy more so.

"You better." Percy panted, apparently either feeling rather bold, or not knowing what exactly he was saying.

It didn't matter, Jason loved his statement either way.

"You're mine." He declared, raking lips and tongue and teeth down Percy's front, while his hand let go of Percy's arms so he could move freely.

Percy didn't try to move them.

Instead, he remained spread out and ready for Jason to take, his eyes closed and his lips parted to let those gasps escape that Jason liked more and more.

"Say you're mine." Jason told him, and Percy seemed about to speak, still looking so wonderfully dazed, but then he halted, his eyes opening the fraction of an inch to gaze down at Jason.

"Never."

Feisty.

Jason's grin widened, and he gave Percy's boxer shorts a tug, which instantly made him lift his hips automatically, to give Jason the chance to take them off.

"You know it's true." He remarked, beginning to tug down his underwear agonizingly slowly, while Percy clenched his jaw and closed his eyes and seemed to try so hard to refrain from moving, though the way his body trembled in need and anticipation spoke for itself.

"S-Stop your teasing and get going, or…or this will be over before…before it even started…" Percy pressed out, his voice a mixture between urgent and desperate, and Jason absolutely loved that blush that was darkening again.

He grinned up at his boyfriend, wondering faintly how the two of them had never ended up doing this before.

The gods knew there had been enough moments that could have led to just this.

Why hadn't they?

"No worries, we have all day, love." He assured him, and Percy made a small, surprised-sounding noise.

What, had he thought Jason was going to rush through this?

Gods no.

"Now tell me you're mine." Jason told him, and Percy shifted beneath him again, trying to get him to hurry up undressing him, but Jason decided to be cruel and _stop_.

He really, really, _really_ wanted to hear him say it.

He _had_ to hear him say it, had to hear him confirm it, out loud, for him to hear.

Percy groaned in apparent agony, throwing his head back and moving his arms to cover his face with his hands, as if that was going to help him whatsoever.

"I…I…forget it. Make me. Yes. _Make me_."

 _Fine by him_.

Jason growled, then pulled off Percy's boxer shorts in one hurried motion, before his hand reached out to grab hold of Percy's dick.

His dick, which was rock hard and leaking pre-cum already, all because of Jason.

All _for_ Jason.

He stroked him, working out a rhythm that he then promptly changed again, because he so wasn't going to let Percy get used to his ministrations all that quickly.

He was going to rile him up and make him _beg_.

Percy whimpered, writhing under Jason's touch and thrusting his hips upwards ever so slightly, though Jason immediately moved his other hand to his hip to hold him down.

"You know you're setting yourself up for even more-…" He started, but Percy was already gasping and whimpering and groaning – and _nodding his head_.

"Bring it on! I dare you to!"

Gods, he loved seeing Percy so beside himself.

What did that say about Jason?

He decided he'd ponder that _later_.

Jason pulled his hand away from Percy's dick, and he promptly whined, his eyes snapping open to search and find Jason, looking at him in a mixture of incredulity and desperation.

"Jason! No, Jason, please…" He started, then snapped his mouth shut stubbornly, a look of defiance washing over his face for the faintest moment, and Jason accepted the challenge readily.

"Make me." Jason purred, using Percy's own words against him, and Percy looked positively _offended_.

Then, he moved astonishingly fast and had his hands at the hem of Jason's shirt in a heartbeat, wasting no time in trying to tug it right off.

"Eager." Jason teased as he allowed him to practically rip his shirt off, and Percy made a sound that seemed between an upset grumble and a needy whine, his hands already at Jason's unbuttoned pants.

"Shut up and let me-…" Percy snapped at him breathlessly, then his breath caught in his throat as Jason's knee accidentally brushed against his leaking hard-on.

(Or maybe not so accidentally.)

The faraway look was back in Percy's eyes, his attention span apparently even shorter than usual as he abandoned his task of stripping Jason off his clothes in favor of rubbing against his leg, instead.

Gods, he was so far gone.

Jason loved it.

"What is it you want, Perce?" He asked, knowing full well Percy was in no state to reply properly, though he was hoping he'd try, anyways.

Percy sent him a dazed look, still rubbing against his leg as if his life depended on it, and his hand was moving _dangerously close_ to his dick, as if he had every intention of touching himself.

Oh, he wouldn't _dare_.

Jason snatched both of his hands just to make sure, and Percy instantly whined and tried to move closer to bribe him with kisses, but Jason merely held his hands up above their heads with one hand, his other hand _brushing_ against Percy's dick to get his attention.

The moan that escaped his boyfriend told him he had his utmost attention, alright.

"What do you want?" He repeated, and Percy made a meek, needy sound, now trying to climb onto his lap.

"Y-You…" Percy gasped, and Jason raised his eyebrows, wondering whether there was more coming, or whether this was his actual response.

Jason totally wouldn't mind either way.

"Your hand…and…and…kiss me…Jason, please, I need…" Percy pressed out with that wonderfully dazed expression, and Jason allowed him closer, letting his arms wrap around his neck and trusting Percy to keep them there, before he let go to pull him onto his lap by his hips.

"Just my hand?" He asked, mildly disappointed as he dragged his lips over Percy's cheek towards his lips, and he could feel the shivers running down Percy's back in response as he kept trying to turn his head.

"I…and…you…your…Jason, this isn't _fair_!" Percy whined, and Jason grinned against his skin for a moment, before he continued his path to Percy's lips.

He didn't want to go slow.

He didn't want to tease.

He didn't want to stay away from those oh-so-kissable lips.

But he knew if he did what he wanted to do, he'd maul Percy and _fuck_ him until there was no tomorrow, and he was _pretty sure_ that was a bad idea.

Which didn't mean he wouldn't go through with what he had in mind.

He was going to take Percy.

Was going to claim him as his.

Was going to make Percy cry out his name in ecstasy over and over again.

Oh yes.

But not right now.

Right now, he was going to kiss his boyfriend even more senseless than he already seemed to be.

"When is it, ever? Tell me what you want, and I might just give it to you…" He purred, then captured Percy's already swollen lips in another heated kiss that Percy immediately returned, trying to get closer again, but Jason kept him in place.

Oh, he'd give him the world if Percy asked for it.

He'd give him _anything_.

Percy's heart was beating wildly in his chest, Jason could hear it, could feel it, and the knowledge that _he_ was the cause for it felt better than he'd ever thought it would.

He let his hands move from Percy's hips to his butt, and Percy groaned against his lips as he dug his fingers into the soft skin.

Gods, yes.

"Squishy." Jason whispered, and at any other time, Percy would have complained, would have huffed, would have pulled away to glower at him.

Now, however, Percy merely moaned and pushed into his hands, then rocked his hips forward again, a needy whine escaping him the one second their lips and tongues weren't connected.

"What do you want?" Jason asked again, and Percy mumbled something indistinguishable, his eyes half-closed, his expression pure sex.

"What was that?" Jason pried, dragging his lips, teeth and tongue down Percy's neck once more, though he was a lot gentler this time, making Percy squirm on purpose.

"Please…just…"

Gods, Percy's voice was so wonderfully ragged and breathless, even though they hadn't even _done_ anything yet, really.

"Just what?"

"Jason!" Percy cried, looking positively _desperate_ , and Jason decided to have at least some mercy on him.

He pulled one hand off that tempting backside, instead wrapping it around Percy's dick, and Percy let out a startled, yet almost euphoric sound that would forever be engraved into Jason's mind.

Jason didn't even try to hide his grin as Percy's entire body shook and trembled from his touch, Percy's head falling onto his shoulder for support, his breath hot against Jason's skin.

They were both hot and sweaty, but Jason wasn't even half as close to blowing as Percy was.

Gods, Percy was like putty in his hands, though, all submissive and wonderful.

Even though he kept complaining about not wanting to say out loud he liked this, the way he let Jason do as he pleased, and made no qualms to show how much he loved that, already spoke for itself more than enough.

"Is this what you want?" He asked, deciding he had given Percy enough of a break, and Percy moaned against his neck, his hips rocking back and forth to thrust into his hand, his pace speeding up.

So needy.

"M-More…" Percy whispered, and Jason decided to be bold, just to test the waters.

His one hand still firmly on Percy's dick, he moved his other hand to stroke over Percy's butt again, before moving one finger towards his hole.

Instead of complaining or stiffening up, Percy _mewled_.

Oh gods.

"Tell me you're mine." He breathed against the side of Percy's face as he kept pumping Percy's dick with one hand, and rubbing against his hole with his other.

He felt him shiver, felt him twitch, felt more pre-cum leaking from his tip, and he felt his own dick responding to all of that, longing for more friction, for an actual touch, for some sort of relief.

Percy moaned and gasped and groaned, rocking his hips both to push into Jason's grip, as well as his touch at his backside, apparently unable to decide which he liked better, or maybe enjoying both just the same.

"Percy." Jason reminded him, and Percy whined again, hiding his face at the side of Jason's neck, his breath hot and strange against Jason's sweaty skin, though it wasn't all that unpleasant.

Probably because it was his neck.

Percy would have one hell of a time if he was sane enough to realize he'd be able to rip Jason off all power if only he made use of his sensitive neck.

Then again, right now, Percy was in no position to rip anything off anybody, unless it was Jason's boxer shorts, maybe.

Gods, he wanted out of those.

Needed to get out of those.

"Just do it!" Percy pleaded, his voice cracking as he clung to Jason, and Jason almost took pity on him.

But only almost.

"All you have to do is say it, and I'll give you anything you want." Jason promised, and Percy mewled again, pushing against his finger until Jason felt it pushing inside slightly.

As much as he was all for that, he still pulled back, and Percy whined in agony.

Yeah, no.

Not without lube.

Plus, _Jason_ set the pace here, not Percy.

"You…you…you're _impossible_! Why do you…I just…Jason! Jason, _please_! You have no idea how much I've been hoping for this, how often I imagined this, can't you have mercy on me for _five freaking minutes_? I am letting you have my first time, even though you could rub that in at any moment, and you're _still_ insisting that I should add to that by saying I'm yours? You're so _cruel_! Now touch me or _so the gods help me_!" Percy rambled with his wonderfully breathless voice, and Jason's eyebrows shot up as he stilled, letting his words sink in.

Oh? So Percy really _had_ wanted Jason to 'win'? Had pictured this?

Jason most definitely liked the sound of that, alright.

Though he wasn't sure what Percy meant by rubbing it in that Jason got his first time.

Jason wasn't exactly very experienced himself, after all (if anything, he was a lot _less_ experienced than Percy).

"So eager. I'm impressed. However, you are forgetting that _you_ stopped undressing me in order to get yourself off, Perce. We could already be-…" He started, but never got to finish that statement, because his boyfriend suddenly pulled back and dived down, and the next moment, Jason found himself pushed back into the bed as Percy all but tore his pants off, closely followed by his boxer shorts.

 _Well_.

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but then, Percy looked up at him with determination and defiance in his gaze – and all thoughts of talking were forgotten as he wrapped his lips around Jason's dick.

Well, _damn_.

Hot. Wet. _Amazing_.

Jason's head tipped back as he let out a soft moan, his hands automatically moving into Percy's hair, though he instantly moved them back to grab the sheets when he felt the urge to _move_ Percy.

Better safe than sorry.

Percy moaned around his dick, apparently intent on letting his tongue explore every inch of it, and Jason loved the sensation more than he could ever put into words.

Not that he even tried.

"Enjoying yourself, there?" He teased instead, though his voice was way too breathless and strained for it to get across right.

Percy replied by fixing those way too alluring eyes on him and sucking on his tip, making Jason groan and close his eyes in bliss all over again.

Yeah, okay, he was probably enjoying this more than Percy was.

He remembered Will telling him Percy had a thing for blowjobs, and pried his eyes open to glance down at his boyfriend, who had his eyes closed now and hummed as he moved up and down Jason's dick, his tongue still set on exploring and only adding to the amazing sensations surging through Jason.

Yes, he seemed to be enjoying himself just fine, too.

Jason moaned again when Percy's humming intensified as he started sucking on his tip once more, his tongue swirling around it so wonderfully.

Gods, he definitely knew what he was doing.

Kind of unfair.

Jason tore his eyes away from Percy's face to not get too carried away, but that only made him realize how Percy was positioned between his legs, with his front pushed down and his butt up in the air.

Oh, he wanted to touch.

So. Badly.

Maybe, if he sat up, he could…

Percy started bobbing his head up and down, and Jason groaned, resisting the urge to push upwards into his mouth.

Okay, he wasn't going to move.

Ever.

"Percy, if you don't stop, I'm going to blow." He pressed out between huffs, his gaze back on Percy's face as he continued to take more and more of him into his mouth, as if testing just how far he could go.

Jason wouldn't put it past him.

Percy was rather ambitious, after all.

Their gazes met, and Percy's eyes said he absolutely wouldn't mind – next to the unmistakably triumphant gleam they held.

But then, Percy pulled back and off his dick, with obscene popping sound and all, and flashing him a cheeky smile that should _not_ be so alluring to Jason.

"Guess I'm just that good, huh?"

Oh, that guy.

Jason growled, and the next moment, he had Percy pinned down in the bed once more, wiping that smile right off his boyfriend's face and replacing it with a hopeful, needy look once more.

Yes, much better.

"So cocky. And there I thought you wanted to take things further?" He asked silkily, and emphasized his statement by moving one hand down to move Percy's leg around him and squeeze his butt once more.

Percy worried his bottom lip in response, and _that_ shouldn't look half as alluring as it did, either.

Jason rocked his hips, and Percy's eyelids fluttered shut.

"Yes! Yes, please, Jason! I want to…I need to…please, I want to so badly. I want to know how it feels, I want you to be the one who…who…"

Yes?

Jason pulled back to look down at Percy beneath him, and Percy seemed to fear he was going to leave him, wrapping his legs tightly around his waist and clinging onto him like that.

He loved it.

Especially since it presented such a nice view of Percy laid out so wonderfully.

Gods, how had they never let this happen before?

And, by the gods, Percy looked _gorgeous_.

Yes, he could totally see why Will had decided 'Gorgeous' made a great pet name for him.

"'You want me to be the one who' what?" He purred, adjusting Percy's legs around him as he kneeled between his legs, grabbing his own dick to rub it against Percy's butt, making him shiver and gasp and rock his hips, practically inviting him in.

Lube.

He needed lube.

Now.

And patience.

Would he find patience in their night drawer?

Probably not, but he'd have to look for it, else he was going to do something undoubtedly stupid.

"I…don't make me say it, Jason. Please just…just do it." Percy begged again, his eyes closed and one arm moving to cover his face, but Jason wasn't having any of that, instantly moving said arm to the side again.

"Alright, I'll do it." He said as he rubbed his throbbing dick against Percy's hole again, and Percy let out a drawn-out soft moan, pushing right back against him.

Gods, he was going to be the death of Jason.

"If you tell me you're mine, that is." He added huskily, and Percy whined, his hands in his face again to hide.

Jason huffed, moving them aside with one hand again, and Percy looked up at him with a needy, desperate look and the most adorable excuse for a glare Jason had ever seen.

"You're…you're horrible."

Jason rocked his hips, and Percy gasped again, his hands suddenly at Jason's shoulders, clawing slightly as if to keep him there.

"Fine! I'm yours! I'm all yours! Please, Jason, just _take_ me already!"

Oh yes.

Oh, that sounded wonderful.

Jason started smirking, a warm, _amazing_ feeling surging through him at Percy's words, at the knowledge he had confirmed it, he had said it _out loud_.

He leaned down to claim Percy's lips, and Percy melted into the kiss immediately.

Okay, this had been the best decision in his life.

He had to thank Will later.

Gods, yes, he'd have to thank him.

He loved his boyfriends, had he mentioned?

Jason rocked his hips again, though he made sure not to push _inside_ Percy by accident, especially since Percy was most definitely trying to get him to, with him angling his body and trying to press back against him over and over again.

So _needy_.

Jason loved it.

He pulled back, untangling Percy's legs from around him to get to their drawer, to get the lube, to get back as soon as possible.

Percy's despairing wail stopped him.

Sea-green eyes with dilated pupils and a look of utter betrayal gleamed up at him, and he blinked.

"You said you'd do it if I admitted to it!" Percy complained, breathless and so, so _upset_.

Jason couldn't help but chuckle softly, leaning back down over his boyfriend to press his lips to his in a quick, chaste kiss.

"Love, I'm getting the lube. Don't you worry, I'll be right back to give you all you desire." He promised, and Percy's mouth formed a small 'o' as realization washed over his features.

Then he blushed, letting go of Jason and averting his eyes with a flustered look.

Jason pressed his lips to his cheek, then pulled back to make true on his words.

He felt Percy's eyes on him as he started rummaging in the drawer, but all he could think about was whether or not he should grab a condom _now_ , or wait until later.

He might get carried away and rush anything if he took it with him.

But he also didn't really want to let go of Percy again to get one.

Jason's laziness won out and he grabbed one of the condoms, noticing it was one of the colored ones.

Hey, maybe he'd be lucky and it would be blue, Percy would love that.

He glanced back at his boyfriend, and their eyes met, Percy's gaze full of want and uncertainty.

Jason dropped the condom next to them, then moved back between his legs, his breath catching in his throat slightly as he gazed down at Percy, his Percy, who was still there, even though he knew what they were about to do.

What they wanted to do.

Oh gods, Jason wanted this so much.

He really, _really_ had to thank Will later.

"You ready?" He asked, popping the lid of the lube bottle open, and Percy nodded, though the uncertainty in his eyes grew.

Jason leaned down to kiss him again, and Percy hesitated for a moment, then he kissed him back, his arms wrapping around his neck to keep him down with him.

"Stay. Like this. I…I…" Percy whispered against his lips as he made to pull away, and Jason nodded automatically.

Anything to make Percy comfortable.

Especially since it had to take a lot of him to actually admit he needed the closeness.

Especially like this.

Jason's urge to dominate was replaced by gentle affection, and he nuzzled his nose against the side of Percy's neck, placing soft kisses on the dark red marks he had left all over it and making Percy shiver.

He moved his free hand down to Percy's butt, but then hesitated, wondering whether he should first stroke Percy's dick a while longer to get him to loosen up and relax again.

But then, Percy was already jerking his hips up and into his hands, mutely asking him to get going.

So Jason moved past his dick, stroking over Percy's thigh to his backside, and Percy stiffened slightly beneath him, while also spreading his legs further for him and lifting his hips more.

Jason decided not to tease him about it, instead stroking over his hole tentatively, and Percy's breath promptly hitched in his throat.

He kissed the side of his neck again, then shifted and pulled his hand back up to put some lube on his finger without looking, which proved to be a lot more difficult than first expected.

Percy had his face hidden at the crook of his neck, and his arms tightly wrapped around him, his breathing ragged and his body trembling, though whether it was in anticipation or dread, Jason couldn't tell.

"I cheated. Will gave me the option to cheat if I really wanted to, to ensure I win." He blurted, right before pushing his lubed finger into Percy, and Percy gasped and groaned and clung to him, before pulling away slightly.

"You…what?" He asked dazedly, then moaned again as Jason pushed into him slowly, amazed at how strange he felt around his finger.

In a very not-bad way.

"I cheated to make sure I'd win. So I'd get to do this with you. I'm sorry." He rambled, though he wasn't sure why he was even telling Percy to begin with.

This was not something he should be talking about while trying to finger Percy.

Not only because it was weird and only distracted from how amazing this felt, but also because it might even make Percy put an end to this and break things off.

"Why…why would you do that?" Percy pressed out between gasps, trying and failing to keep his eyes open as his arms clung to Jason, not allowing him to pull back even if he had wanted to.

(He didn't want to.)

"Because I wanted to. I needed to. I had to. It's unfair, I know, and I have no clue who you'd have wanted it to be. I don't care whether it's your first time or your hundredth, I just had to touch you, I just had to feel you. When it comes to you, I feel so different, Percy. I want to claim, dominate, mark you as mine. I want to yell it to the world, and I want you to join in. I want you to writhe beneath me and scream my name, and I had to have that happen. I'm so sorry, Percy." He confessed, his voice breathless as he moved his finger in and out of Percy, slightly surprised at how easily it slid in and out, though that also made his dick twitch in want and need.

"You…you…you're crazy, Jason. Crazy, absolutely crazy. Just…you should have just…told me…and there I was, worried you were going to…to tease me…about…about…" Percy panted, stuttered, gasped, his head falling back as he moaned softly and rocked his hips against Jason's hand, making him pick up his pace tentatively.

"Tease you about what, love?"

"Curl your finger." Percy ordered instead of replying, and Jason blinked, though he did as he was told, and Percy suddenly gasped, clutching him as if his life depended on it.

What?

What had just happened?

Wait…

"Yes!" Percy exclaimed, rocking his hips again needily, and Jason repeated what he had just done, trying to pinpoint exactly what spot he had just hit.

"Tease you about what?" He repeated, and Percy shook his head weakly as if to tell him to drop it, while writhing beneath him and rocking his hips harder.

"Add another finger."

Bossy.

"If you tell me what you were worried about." Jason negotiated, and Percy groaned, though whether out of pleasure or exasperation, he couldn't tell.

"About…about getting my first time…about doing this, pushing me down, before I…before I…you know…the whole…thing with our rivalry…and all…" Percy pressed out, and Jason halted for a moment, making Percy mewl and try to move back into Jason's hand somehow, even though he was holding onto Jason too tightly for that.

Seriously?

 _That_ was what Percy had been worried about?

"That's ridiculous. Come on, would you have teased me if-…" He started with a frown, but then stopped, making a face.

Wait…

Yeah, Percy would have _totally_ teased him about getting to have sex with him first, who was he kidding?

" _Yes_! Now, please, would you…" Percy exclaimed, shamelessly admitting to being an ass, and Jason started adding a second finger, pushing against where he thought his sweet spot was.

Percy's soft cry said he was right.

"Stupid. I love you like this, Percy. Wouldn't tease you for the life of me. Though I'm going to tease you about all these wonderful sounds you're making, later. Gonna brag to our boyfriends, you can bet your squishy backside on it." He assured him, and Percy tried to glower at him for a moment, though he then moaned instead.

"Please! Need…more…" He rasped, and who was Jason to deny him anything?

He moved, and Percy allowed him to pull back to sit up between his legs, glancing down for a moment to see his fingers moving in and out of him.

Damn.

Okay, that looked…that looked pretty hot.

He swallowed thickly and glanced back up at Percy, to check he wasn't uncomfortable with Jason looking, but Percy was rutting against him rather shamelessly, his hand moving towards his dick again.

 _Hey_.

"No touching, Percy." He grumbled, and Percy whined softly, before letting his hands drop to his sides, instead clutching the bed sheets.

"But…but…"

"No. I'll get to that in a moment, babe."

Percy moaned in reply, then suddenly cried out again, arms flailing for a moment before returning to clutching the sheets desperately, and Jason watched him pulling his legs up slightly, which granted an even better view.

What had he just done?

Whatever it was, he had to do it again.

"Have you ever done this before?" Jason asked breathlessly, amazed by how expressive Percy was, and how willing he was to let him see him like this.

Percy shook his head, then mewled and flailed with his hands again.

It took Jason a moment to realize he was looking for something to hold onto.

Or rather, he was trying to hold onto Jason, but he was too far away.

Jason looked back down at his fingers pushing into Percy and spreading him as best as he could, feeling and seeing his own dick twitch in response.

Then he moved back closer to Percy to give him a messy kiss and allow him to cling to him.

"You want to stick to this? I wasn't joking when I said we have all day." Jason offered, but Percy shook his head wildly.

"I want to feel you. I don't want this to end. I have no idea how I'm going to face you after all of this, but I don't want to know, and I sure as hell am not going to give you the satisfaction of driving me over the edge until your dick is balls deep inside me."

Well, damn.

Jason moaned at Percy's words, definitely loving the sound of _that_.

"Okay. Don't blame me if I don't hold out for very long, though. If I suck, I'm calling dibs on another round." He replied, his voice low and raspy, and Percy mewled beneath him, shoving into his hand over and over again.

Gods, so needy.

"Another finger!" Percy pleaded, and Jason huffed, though he pulled his hand back to add more lube, anyways, even though Percy felt plenty wet to him, already.

Will had used lots of lube, so he was going to do the same, especially since Percy was new to this.

"I thought it was me setting the pace here." He pointed out breathlessly, and Percy groaned as he pushed his fingers back into him, a rather elated _smile_ appearing on Percy's face for a moment, before he bit his bottom lip and started rocking his hips against his hand once more.

"Fuck you and fuck me." He panted, and now it was Jason who smiled, though it was much more predatory and wanting than elated and drunk on love and pleasure.

"You think you're ready for that yet, Perce?" He teased, and Percy groaned, now basically riding Jason's hand, even though he was still laying on his back and shouldn't be able to move this wonderfully, at all.

" _Yes_! Yes, I am, now do it, please, I'm begging you."

"Tell me what I want to hear, then." Jason told him, curling his fingers again and pushing against Percy's prostate again, while glancing down to watch the puddle of pre-cum that had collected on Percy's lower stomach, where his dick kept slapping against his skin with each thrust.

 _Nice_.

"I…I…I don't know what you…" Percy started, and Jason kissed the side of his face, before moving to his lips, before letting their tongues play, before pulling back to gaze down at Percy again, all sprawled out and beautiful beneath him, while his fingers were pushing in and out of Percy with surprising ease.

He'd have expected this to be a lot more difficult.

But Percy was so into it, he also wasn't all that surprised it seemed to work out so well.

"Tell me you're mine. Tell me how much you want me. I need to know how much you want this, after all." He suggested, and watched in amazement how Percy pushed himself down on Jason's hand, though the movements seemed much more difficult now that Percy couldn't hold onto Jason anymore.

" _I love you!_ " Percy exclaimed instead, and Jason blinked, surprise rushing through him, closely followed by the urge to…

Percy's eyes snapped open, surprise and shock flashing over his face, but then Jason was already on top of him, flattening him into the bed as he had one hand at the side of his face, and the other, lubed one at Percy's waist, his lips colliding with Percy's harshly, hungrily, desperately.

His mind was empty.

His touch was disbelieving and desperate.

"Say it again." He whispered against Percy's lips, but Percy merely mewled, trying to pull away and hide his face, but Jason didn't let him.

"You…get back to…push back inside me, Jason. Forget I just said that. Come on, _please_. I'll say anything. I…I'm yours, all yours, please take me, please, please, please…" He started pleading, and Jason started kissing along his jaw gently, acting as if he was ignoring his pleas, though his hand left Percy's face to search for the condom.

"No, say it again. Did you mean it? Please tell me you meant it."

"I…I'll tell you if you fucking start using your dick instead of your mouth, Jason!"

So feisty.

Jason moved his hand from Percy's waist to his own dick, pushing it down to rub against Percy's hole, though the temptation to push in was a lot stronger than he had expected.

Percy gasped, instantly drawing his legs up further.

Oh, he wanted this, alright?

Jason wanted it _more_.

"I'd be a lot faster in giving you what you want if you just told me again, Percy." He pointed out, though the only reason he wasn't yet 'balls deep' inside Percy, was because he couldn't freaking find the condom anymore.

"Forget it! I slipped up. I'm not gonna say it again. Ever. Now freaking get a move on, Jason! Please!"

Had he mentioned Percy was either extremely submissive or extremely bossy?

Jason couldn't quite decide which one he liked more.

He growled, and Percy immediately shut up, his head pushing back into the mattress as he lifted his hips to animate Jason to push into him, his throat bared for Jason to bite.

Jason placed a quick kiss to the dark red mark he must have left there earlier, then gave into temptation and allowed the tip of his dick to push against his hole ever so faintly.

So wet.

So hot.

Gods, he wanted to push in so, _so_ badly.

His other hand was still patting the space next to them, frantically looking for the condom, though he had to pull it back a moment later to stop Percy from pushing against him more than he should.

Not to mention to keep his own balance, because everything was suddenly a bit blurry.

Percy's hand appeared in his field of vision, and the next moment, his glasses were pushed back onto his nose.

Oh. Well, that explained a lot.

"You look like a dork with glasses." Percy very lovingly insulted him, and Jason rocked his hips automatically, just to make them both groan as his dick pushed past Percy's rim slightly.

 _Fuck_.

Jason cursed, trying to pull back.

Too hot, too wet, too intense, he wasn't wearing a condom, Will would have his head, Percy would have his head, sure, they knew they were clean, but still, they had agreed on using condoms, Jason as the responsible ex-praetor should _not_ be doing this…

Percy mewled and scratched his arms, his legs now around Jason rather than pulled up, and his hips helplessly trying to move him further onto Jason's dick.

"Percy…Percy…c-condom…" He breathed, panted, chanted, but Percy didn't seem to understand, or maybe he couldn't hear him, because he made no move to stop whatsoever.

Jason tried to pull away again, but that only made Percy whine and thrust against him, and Jason groaned as he slid further _into_ Percy instead of out.

He cursed, then cursed again, then whimpered as he started thrusting into Percy, unable to help himself.

Percy cried out softly beneath him, clinging to him and hiding his face at the crook of his neck, his breath hot and wet against Jason's skin.

"Jason…Jason, gods, yes, yes, _yes_ …" He started chanting, while Jason started apologizing, started mewling, started pushing into Percy deeper and deeper.

Shouldn't this be hurting Percy?

Shouldn't he be stopping him?

Gods, Jason had to stop this, had to pull out, had to find that gods-forsaken condom, had to…

"I don't give a damn, Jason. Just fucking fuck me! If I wanted you to use the condom, I'd have helped you find it, for gods' sake!" Percy exclaimed, apparently and surprisingly actually capable of hearing and understanding Jason's words, and Jason mewled again.

Then he was the one clinging to Percy, pressing them together as he felt himself pushing in, in, _in_ , until he was all the way inside, until he could feel his balls against Percy's skin, until he could feel himself pulsing inside Percy, _so_ ready to blow, but restraining himself, nonetheless.

They were both panting, both gasping, and Jason forced himself to prop his upper body up to look down at Percy, to check whether he was in pain, to check whether he was okay, to check whether…

"You're gorgeous." He blurted, and Percy blinked up at him with dazed eyes, before a stupid grin appeared on his face.

"And you're sappy. I thought you kept that for your afterglows?"

Cocky.

Jason rocked his hips, and Percy's grin slid off his face, replaced by a look of bliss.

"I'm always sappy. Deal with it. Now, does it hurt? Is this okay?" He asked, letting the uncertainty show in his voice.

Percy's hands reached out, stroking over Jason's legs, as if to make sure he'd actually stay there.

Not that Jason was going to move for the next some hundred years.

He was just going to stay here, right here, with his dick safe and sound inside Percy.

"A bit, but it's good. I like it. This is better than expected." Percy admitted, and Jason's lips twitched, before he tentatively rolled his hips.

Oh yes, this felt _great_.

"Should I pull out to get a condom?" He asked, and Percy's expression changed to an unimpressed, rather exasperated look.

"Didn't I _just_ say…oh, you mean this one?" He interrupted his own complaint as he shifted and pulled out Jason's condom from beneath him.

Well, that explained _a lot_.

They shared a look, then Percy rolled his eyes, moving his finger in a come hither motion, and Jason gave a small nod, before moving to give him the kiss they both needed right about now.

Then, he urged himself to pull out, and they both whimpered at the loss.

Percy tore the package open, while Jason made to grab the lube, his mind spinning as he realized this was probably a _horrible_ first time, really.

Not only had they rushed into everything, and more because of a dumb game than because it was what they had both wanted in that very moment; he had also started out all beside himself and way too forcefully, just to then get soft and gentle in between, to then push him back down, to then rush to finger him, to then confess the whole thing with the rigged game, to him losing the condom and getting too carried away.

Seriously, this was a mess.

But somehow, Jason loved it.

Somehow, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

"Seriously?" Percy asked in disbelief, and Jason blinked, following Percy's gaze to the condom to see what he was talking about.

Then he grinned.

Ha, it was a blue one.

"Was this rigged, too?" Percy asked suspiciously, before he reached out to stroke Jason's hard, now lubed dick, which felt wonderful, though Jason had to admit he was still high from the tight, wet heat he had just felt moments ago.

"No, that was just luck." Jason breathed, and Percy chuckled softly, before making to roll the condom onto him.

"Okay, you're good to go, Sparky. Ready to deflower me properly, without begging for forgiveness all the while?" Percy teased, and Jason made a face, though he lubed up, anyways.

He had _not_ begged for forgiveness.

…Okay, maybe a little bit.

"You know, you're pretty cocky for somebody taking it." He remarked, and Percy's mouth fell open, right before Jason grinned at him and pushed back inside him.

Oh _yes_.

They both groaned in unison, and Jason's hands shot to Percy's hips to hold him in place as he thrust into him, a lot more controlled than before, though he had no idea how long he'd be able to keep his composure.

Oh gods, this felt _amazing_.

"Yes, Jason, yes, deeper, do it. Please."

Ah, there was his submissive, yet bossy Percy.

Jason growled, thrusting into him a tad harsher, until he was back all the way inside Percy, relishing in the way he felt around him.

Then, he started to test out how to best move, same as he had done back with Nico.

Percy pulled his legs up, his feet trying to settle on Jason's sides, though that didn't work.

Jason ended his search and misery by grabbing hold of them and moving them over his shoulders.

This, as it turned out, was a _great_ thing to do.

Because suddenly Percy wasn't just gasping, but _crying out_ beneath him whenever Jason pushed into him, and he suddenly felt _a lot_ tighter around him.

Yes, this angle was most _definitely_ better.

Jason cursed again, unable to help himself.

Percy had the audacity to chuckle beneath him.

"Will is right, you sound wonderful when you curse. Seriously, though, who'd have guessed you have such a potty mouth in bed, Sparky?"

"Shut up and get fucked, Perce." Jason shot back with a matching grin, and Percy threw his head back with a shameless moan.

"Oh yes, please. I'm just waiting for it."

"You know what." Jason remarked, then put his hands flat on Percy's chest to push him down, though there was no way for him to move in any way whatsoever, anyways.

Jason leaned over him, aware of the strain that put on Percy, and he pushed into him like that, their faces not close enough to kiss, but perfect for Jason to watch Percy's expressions intently.

Not that Percy made any qualms to hide the bliss and pleasure on his face that he seemed to feel with each and every thrust.

"Like this?" He rasped, pushing into him in a steady, still rather gentle rhythm, compared to the needy and uncontrolled way he had thrust into him earlier, not to mention how he had moved his fingers inside him.

"F-Faster…" Percy replied, and Jason complied.

They both moaned, groaned, gasped, wrapped their arms tighter around each other, and Jason had to let Percy's legs down in order for their bodies to connect better, though Percy immediately wrapped them around Jason's midriff, which felt amazing in its own way, too.

They moved together fluidly, Jason thrusting forward, and Percy pushing to meet him, and suddenly, they had their own rhythm, even if neither of them had actually aimed for one.

It felt amazing.

More than amazing.

"I love you." Percy panted against his neck, licking over his sweaty skin before letting his teeth graze over it ever so faintly, though he had to break away to moan again not a moment later.

Gods, yes, this was so much more than amazing.

Jason moved his hands over Percy's back, scratching and clawing slightly as he moaned and relished in the way Percy felt beneath him, the way Percy sounded, the way he looked, the way he looked up at Jason with heavy-lidded eyes and that wonderfully dazed look as Jason moved to look down at him.

"I think I do, too." He replied, and something akin to surprise appeared on Percy's face for a fleeting moment, just to get replaced by a small, soft smile.

Then Jason felt himself getting tugged down once more, and they were back to moaning and groaning and pressing their feverishly hot bodies together as much as they could, their lips meeting in a few messy, open-mouthed kisses, though they didn't bother with anything past that.

"Need me to touch you?" Jason asked, knowing full well he was neglecting Percy's dick, but he could still feel it twitching, and could still feel the pre-cum leaking from the tip, and he was absolutely unwilling to let this come to an end just yet by making Percy come.

"Don't you dare! I've waited for forever for this to happen, you're not going to put an end to this by making me cum before you do, Sparky."

Oh, there was _no_ way he was going to come before Percy did.

"Challenge accepted." He rasped back, and Percy mumbled something that might have been a whine, might have been a grumble, might have been a complaint, Jason had no idea.

All he knew was that he was picking up his pace, and it felt amazing, pushing in and out of Percy like this, especially when he made to pull almost entirely out, and then pushed all the way back in.

Percy made that rather nice sound each and every time he did, too.

Jason moved his arms to the sides of Percy's head to hold himself up enough not to squish him, but still remain close enough for their bodies to touch, and his hands found Percy's hair, tugging on it to get him to move his head so they could kiss again.

Percy moaned against his lips, his entire body trembling so wonderfully again.

He felt Percy's dick twitching ominously against his stomach, and argued with himself for another moment, before giving in and moving one hand down between their bodies.

He didn't want this to come to an end.

But he knew he was close, knew Percy was close, knew they'd have to come sooner or later, and he wasn't going to let it get painful for either of them.

Percy hissed when he grabbed hold of his dick, though it turned into a needy whine the moment Jason started stroking, his hands clutching Jason's shoulders as if his life depended on it again, his legs tightening their hold on him.

"You…you…not fair…" Percy complained, and Jason grinned to himself, watching rather pleased how Percy's face scrounged up as he started moaning and writhing beneath him more and more.

"You don't like it?" He asked, though he knew Percy loved it.

"Stop being so cocky!" Percy snapped back, then let out a rather messy groan that turned into a wail in the middle, and Jason quickened his pace on both his thrusts and the pumping of his hand.

"You know you love it." He replied cheekily, and Percy smacked his shoulder weakly, before clutching him again with a drawn out, low howl, his dick starting to twitch over and over in Jason's hand.

"Fuck, fuck, this is not happening. Why are you this…you have no right to be this…I wasn't this good during my first time with Nico! It's not fair! Stop…stop being so…oh gods, _Jason_!"

Jason dived down to kiss the corners of his parted lips, then moved to drop his head onto the sheets next to Percy's head, letting out a low groan as he started thrusting into him at an absolutely crazy speed, hoping against hope he wasn't hurting Percy by angling his hips like this, but he just…

He needed this.

Percy needed this.

 _They_ needed this.

His hand abandoned all hope of pumping Percy in sync with his thrusts, and he knew full well Percy was going to take back that comment about him being any better than Percy, because he sure as hell was losing his mind right now, and was nowhere near 'good'.

He was a mess.

But Percy was a mess, too, so it was okay.

What a beautiful mess he was, though.

Oh gods.

Percy mewled again helplessly, and Jason joined in with a small howl-like sound, then he felt Percy's lips and teeth against the side of his neck and his thrusts momentarily became _brutal_ as the additional pleasure ripped through him.

Percy cried out, but instead of doing something sensible –like stopping –, he freaking _repeated_ that.

Jason was about to pull back to stop him, but Percy's next cry was accompanied by a breathless scream of Jason's name, closely followed by his dick tensing – and Jason could _feel_ Percy coming, could feel it under his fingers on Percy's dick, could feel it in the way he clenched around Jason's dick.

 _Oh gods_.

He growled, then whined, then howled – then Percy bit his neck as if to make him shut up – and Jason found himself nearly _combusting_ , everything exploding inside him in a mixture of pleasure and bliss and _oh gods yes_!

He came with a drawn out groan and Percy's tongue licking over the hickey he had just made, and Jason couldn't imagine anything more perfect.

His hips still bucking needily, he rode out his orgasm, making Percy groan a couple more times until they both managed to still somewhat, though that resulted in Jason dropping onto Percy without warning, making him groan because of the sudden weight, rather than pleasure.

Yes.

Perfect.

Absolutely, endlessly perfect.

"Sorry about that…" Jason mumbled, slurring his words slightly as he tried to come down from his high enough to coordinate his limbs again

"You really aren't." Percy replied, also slurring his words, and Jason buried his nose at the crook of Percy's neck instead of moving away, rather inhaling his scent and the smell of sex than bothering to check where the heck his arms were.

Did he even have arms?

"I'm really not." He agreed, and Percy let out a small huff, though he didn't seem upset in the slightest.

Their hearts were both beating wildly in their chests, their bodies covered in sweat, and Jason noticed absent-mindedly that Percy's hair actually seemed wet, too.

It didn't matter.

They could take a shower later.

Or two or three.

Jason shivered, feeling the warm, content feeling surging through him that always settled over him like a cloud after his orgasm, and he pressed his lips against Percy's neck affectionately.

Percy chuckled softly, moving a hand into his hair and stroking through it gently.

"Sappy-Jason time?"

Jason smirked, then pressed his lips against his neck some more, before he pulled back to get rid of the condom and start on their clean-up.

"It's _always_ Sappy-Jason time, Perce." He retorted, and Percy made grabby hands at him the moment he disposed of the condom, momentarily giving him pause.

"Come back here, Sparky. Clean-up can wait. Lemme feel you, man."

Under normal circumstances, Jason would have probably been surprised.

Now, he just happily flopped back down on top of Percy and smothered him with his body and love, wrapping his arms tightly around him as his lips started pressing against whatever patch of skin he found.

His neck, the side of his face, his lips, his nose, his ear, his eyelids, the top of his head…

"Now I know why Will complains about you being too cuddly after climax." Percy remarked drily, though he made no move to stop Jason.

Instead, he let out a long, rather satisfied sounding sigh and stroked over Jason's back, and Jason hummed contently.

"You know you love it." He replied, and Percy shrugged half-heartedly.

"Can't deny it has a certain something to it."

Aww, he was admitting to it.

Jason grinned to himself, then started kissing along Percy's jaw.

"Tell me how much you liked it." He 'ordered', though he couldn't muster any authority in his voice whatsoever.

Not that he was really trying to, anyways.

"Ha, forget it. I'm not saying anything…" Percy retorted with a huff, then trailed off, seeming thoughtful, and Jason pulled back to look down at him properly, stroking his hair out of his face so it stood off at horrible angles, making him grin as Percy rolled his eyes.

Then, his boyfriend snickered, a light blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Though…I do have to admit, I kind of get why Nico did what he did, back when he and I had our first time together…I mean, I never questioned it, but I never thought it…" He trailed off again, and Jason had to admit he was intrigued.

"I never thought it would be quite like _this_ , though. But…yeah, I can totally understand why he did that." He finished with a small nod, an odd, rather wistful look on his face, and Jason's eyebrows raised.

"What did he do?" He asked, nibbling on Percy's jaw and almost feeling bad for all the red and purple marks on his neck.

But only almost.

Percy snorted, fixing him with a mischievous look.

"He dropped a whole bunch of condoms into my lap, and we sort of tried to use them all up in one night."

That…gods, yes, that sounded _so much_ like something those two would do.

Jason thought back to the day after Valentine's Day, when they had been on the train, and Percy had been so dead tired and exhausted, but had seemed so _pleased_ at the same time.

Yeah, well, this explained _a lot_.

He chuckled, pressing his lips to Percy's jaw again, before moving to his lips.

"You know, I'm not surprised. But hey, if you want to do the same, I'm not going to stop you." He purred, then returned to kissing Percy's parted lips, his tongue darting out to prod against Percy's.

Percy tried to grin and kiss at the same time, which they all knew by now didn't work, though he luckily focused on the kiss, making Jason feel as if he was soaring.

Oh, he definitely wouldn't stop Percy.

Quite the contrary.

"You know, I just might." Percy teased, nipping on his bottom lip cheekily, and Jason growled softly, his hands moving to push Percy down again as his kiss became demanding.

"Somebody is getting horny again." His boyfriend remarked, though Jason paid him no mind as he tugged on his bottom lip to silence him, sucking on it gently before giving him another kiss, his fingers pinching Percy's nipple for the hell of it.

Percy jumped, letting out a small squeak that had to be the cutest thing Jason had ever heard.

"Would you like to?" Jason asked, knowing _he_ was certainly up for another round.

Percy grinned up at him cheekily, as if he had known Jason would fall victim to his charm, but his eyes gleamed with curiosity and want.

"I managed nine times in one night. Would love to see you try and beat that."

Well, _damn_.

Nine times? That most _definitely_ explained the lack of sleep.

Jason growled, moving to capture Percy's lips again, before his hand started moving _down_.

"Oh yes? You sure you want me to take you up on that challenge?"

Percy's grin widened, though his eyes screamed sex.

"Bring it on, Sparky."

Jason grinned back, though he knew his smile was _a lot_ more predatory.

 _Challenge accepted._

...

Percy hummed contently, though that alone already seemed like way too much effort.

Arms wrapped tightly around him from behind, tugging him back against a broad, freshly showered chest, and lips pressed against his jaw.

"Somebody seems tired." Jason noted cheekily, pressing another super gentle kiss against his jaw, before he laid down behind Percy properly.

Percy snuggled back into his embrace and let out a satisfied sigh, uncaring whether Jason saw his absolutely satisfied smirk or not.

"Yeah." He replied, not even bothering to open his eyes, and Jason chuckled softly behind him, his lips now pressing against the back of Percy's head.

So affectionate.

Percy kind of liked it.

"Can't blame you. That last time seemed pretty intense. Are you feeling alright?"

Always so caring and cautious.

"I'm feeling splendid." He replied with another content sigh, the pleasure and euphoria still coursing through him and keeping him in that blissful post-orgasmic daze.

Mmh, yes, he felt _great_.

If he had known it would feel _this_ great, he'd have begged Nico months ago to top.

He'd have also not given a damn about whether or not Jason got to do him before he got to do Jason.

Though…he still just _waited_ for him to say something, to tease him about that.

But not right now.

Right now, he was enjoying his absolutely perfect afterglow, and he knew from the way Jason seemed so sluggish and affectionate and cuddly that he was doing the same.

Jason laughed softly, and Percy noticed with great satisfaction that his voice seemed rather raspy, too.

Yes, he was very proud of that, especially because he knew he was the cause for it.

Who'd have thought Jason could actually make the sweetest sounds if one only nibbled on his neck the right way?

Percy's smirk widened slightly.

Yes, he was most definitely proud of that.

"That good? Wow, you flatter me, Perce."

Percy huffed.

Partly, he wanted to give a lengthy reply to that, including all the factors that had brought forth his current state of blissed out existence.

Another, much lazier part, wanted to just leave it at the huff and be done with it.

He turned his head slightly, which seemed way too difficult in his sluggish state, but his efforts were rewarded by a gentle kiss to his cheek, and Jason's face nuzzling against his undoubtedly bruised neck.

It felt bruised, at least.

And really, really hot.

Just how Jason had been.

Percy felt his smirk changing into a crooked, pleased grin.

"I give credit where credit is due."

Gods, he was so spent, though.

Jason truly was a great lover.

Of course, Percy hadn't doubted him, but a part of him still wished Jason hadn't been quite _that_ good.

Definitely Zeus' offspring.

(Or Jupiter, whatever.)

Sure, their first time had been rather uncoordinated and messy, but _damn_.

Percy hummed again at the memory.

He had expected a lot less _good feeling_ and a lot more _pain_.

Instead, there hadn't _been_ any pain.

It had felt odd at first, when Jason had touched him _there_ , not to mention when he had pushed inside him, but it hadn't really hurt, at all.

Which was kind of weird, considering that he had _heard_ it could hurt and feel uncomfortable and whatnot.

Even Nico had needed a long moment to be okay with Percy inside him, and Will had taken his time preparing the Italian back when Jason had had sex with him, too.

Not that Percy was complaining.

It had felt amazing.

If he wasn't dead tired and exhausted to the point where he couldn't even lift his little finger if he wanted to, he would probably tease Jason into another round.

Gods, he had loved doing that.

Jason was so easy to tempt, if one only knew how.

"So much praise. I'm at a loss for words, Perce." Jason mumbled contently, smothering him beneath him as he started wrapping himself around Percy like a kid around its favorite plush toy.

Percy let him.

"Who needs words, anyways." He muttered back, and Jason laughed ever so softly again.

"Certainly not you, Mr. ' _Oh-Ah-Yes!'_." Jason teased, and Percy huffed again, even bothering to turn his head to make a face at Jason.

Or, well he _intended_ to make a face at him, but thanks to his brain being sort of useless right now, he merely looked over his shoulder at Jason.

Same difference.

His expression would have softened at the gentle, affectionate smile Jason was giving him, anyways.

"What? It's true, that's all you said the entire last time, Perce. Not that I'm complaining. I loved it." That dork insisted, then kissed his nose.

Wah, how could Percy possibly even _act_ upset when he was being so adorable?

Cruel idiot.

"Be quiet and cuddle me, Sparky." He remarked, but his voice cracked, too hoarse to really be of much use.

Blah.

He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have any voice at all anymore by tomorrow.

Oh well.

It had been worth it.

Jason gave him another kiss on his nose, then tugged him closer and nuzzled his face against his neck again, making Percy remember how he had buried his face at that exact same spot when they had had their third time together.

Oh yes, _absolutely_ worth it.

Seriously, though, Jason had no business being so quick to recover and be ready for another round like that.

He had done most of the work the entire time, so one would expect him to drop dead after three or four times in a row.

But no, Jason had just _had_ to be perfectly fine after ten minutes of sweet and soft cuddling.

If it wasn't so unfair, Percy would have probably found it remarkable.

"If you turn around, I'll be able to kiss you better." Jason said quietly, and Percy opened his eyes again, pondering that option.

Kisses did sound nice.

But turning around…?

So much work.

Way too much work.

Jason started giving his shoulder gentle pecks over and over again, until Percy finally let out a loud sigh and made to move around, letting it show just _how much_ effort this already took.

He wasn't even turned around completely when he groaned and just stayed like that, too tired to move any further, and his limbs not obeying him anymore, anyways.

Jason snorted.

"Really? That bad? Seems like I overdid it a bit, after all."

Only because Percy had made him.

"Don't even start with your worrying. I'm fine. Just dead tired." He retorted drily, and allowed Jason to move him so they could face each other, his lips instantly on Percy's forehead.

Dork.

"Well, after eight rounds, I'd be surprised if you weren't."

Smartass.

Percy huffed.

"I did _nine_ rounds before, so don't you get cocky about that or anything."

Jason didn't have to know about all the breaks and the sleep in between those times, nope.

The blonde chuckled, which made Percy's entire body vibrate and his skin tingle.

He hummed, then tried to suppress a yawn, while Jason smiled down at him with that gentle, affectionate expression Percy liked so much on him.

"Wouldn't dream of it. And I'll have you know I can do another two rounds no problem, if you're so keen on getting your record beaten. Just give me an hour or so to-…"

"Forget it." Percy interrupted him before he could get any further.

As if he was going to let him beat Percy's record!

Plus, he really _was_ absolutely exhausted.

Jason grinned, giving him another kiss on the nose.

"Just joking. I know. You look so wonderfully blissed out, Perce."

Yeah, well, Percy was pretty sure anybody would feel this way after having one mind-blowing orgasm after another for several hours on end.

Percy still appreciated the praise, though, feeling rather smug and content with the world.

He hummed instead of replying, and shifted closer, burying his face at Jason's chest as he felt Jason's hands gently stroking over his body, all soft and soothing touches, rather than the possessive, claiming touches that had riled him up so many times the past hours.

Yes, Percy definitely liked this.

He had wondered after their fourth round which version of Jason he liked more, the dominant and pushy one, or the gentle and affectionate one, but had ultimately decided thinking like that was useless.

Jason simply was both.

Jason was many things.

Percy loved them all.

His boyfriend started showering him in the gentlest kisses again, and he let out a content sigh.

Oh, this was so nice.

Percy could stay like this forever.

…Given that he couldn't make himself move anymore even if he wanted to, he decided he was going to do just that.

Percy nodded to himself as if to seal a deal, and moments later, he found himself dozing off more and more, the blissful haze still everywhere around and inside him, lulling him to sleep, along with those so, so nice touches and kisses he was getting from his wonderful boyfriend.

.

He woke with a start when cold arms wrapped around him from behind, but relaxed again when he heard Nico's voice close to his ear, cool lips pressing against his now aching neck.

Percy started mumbling, though he wasn't sure what he thought he was saying, himself.

There was more noise as he started waking more, Nico whispering with that odd note of suppressed giddiness, Jason replying with a quiet, content-sounding voice, and Will grumbling something about them not opening the windows.

Oh, yeah, they had forgotten about that.

Percy blinked his eyes open tiredly, already turning his head for his usual kiss, and Nico was quick to press his lips onto his gently.

"Hey there. I'm sorry if we woke you. Go back to sleep, cuore mio."

Jason shifted, and Percy realized groggily he was still embracing Percy the same way he had when Percy had first dozed off.

What time was it?

It seemed to be dark around them, so he guessed it was _late_.

"Did you only now come back?" He asked, his voice horribly raspy and scratching in his throat.

Oh.

Yeah, he wasn't surprised.

Nico beamed at him, which was an unusual, but therefore all the more endearing sight.

"Yeah. Will took me out on a date."

Aww, so adorable.

Wait, a date?

Percy frowned, trying to rid himself off his grogginess, but then Jason kissed him on the cheek and tugged him back into his chest, and Percy felt all warm and fuzzy and protected again, the urge to snuggle into his embrace and sleep growing inside him all over again.

"Oh really? That sounds nice. What did you two do?" Jason asked, his voice low and smooth and not raspy at all, which was absolutely unfair.

Will snickered as Percy heard footsteps coming over, before his third boyfriend climbed into the bed as well – just to drop right onto Percy and Jason, making both of them groan.

The cruelty!

"We were _sleeping_!" He groaned, his voice cracking again, though he tried to act upset, anyways, as he and Jason already reached out to wrap their arms around the blonde between them.

Will had the audacity to cackle.

"Nah, _you_ were sleeping, Perce. Jason was wide awake when we tried to sneak in, and from what I can tell, he was too busy worshipping you to close his eyes and sleep." Will notified him, and Percy's eyebrows shot up.

Now, his grogginess indeed was gone, instead replaced by curiosity and uncertain hopefulness.

What…?

His eyes searched Jason's, but he was busy rolling his eyes and wrapping his arms tighter around the three of them, Nico now pressing against Percy's back to be included.

Will shot him an odd look for a moment, his expression turning thoughtful, but then he seemed to shrug off whatever thought he had been having, because he grinned at them both again no moment later and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"So, sweethearts, what have you been up to? Had some _fun_?"

Oh please, as if he wasn't able to tell already, anyways.

Hadn't he _just_ complained about them forgetting to open the windows?

Percy opened his mouth to smartass him, but then his mind flashed back to _Jason_ , his voice, his movements, his lips on Percy's body, his hands everywhere, and all that came out was a soft sigh and a shiver running down his back.

Will shot him a knowing look, his smirk widening.

Percy wanted to scowl at him, but then he caught Jason's rather dreamy, and utterly satisfied expression, and suddenly he didn't feel all that bad about himself anymore.

At least _he_ wasn't _that_ obvious about loving every second of their afternoon together.

Though he realized they should probably reply, else that would be even more obvious.

"Yeah." Percy and Jason said at the same time, Percy rushed and with his voice dying on him, and Jason with a dreamy sigh.

Both Will and Nico chuckled, those teases.

"Sounds like you enjoyed yourselves." Nico noted with a way too cheeky grin, and Percy grumbled with a warming face.

Will was rubbing off on the Italian way too much.

"Oh, they did. They're a bundle of endorphins." Will remarked with a snort, and Percy made a face.

"Is that why you're so close and touchy-feely? If you want an afterglow, I'm sure we can arrange that." He retorted, trying to ignore how raspy his voice was, though the satisfied look that crossed Jason's face at the sound of it wasn't lost on him.

Will huffed indignantly, as if he couldn't believe he'd seriously say something like that.

Yeah, well, Percy could, so he did.

Ha.

"Nah, I'm good. Much too tired for such activities, but thanks for the offer. Leeching off your afterglows is much easier." The blonde replied, and, while Percy made a face again, Jason tugged the three of them closer and buried his face in Will's hair.

Wait, was he still all sappy and cuddly?

Seriously, what time was it?

"So what were you and Nico up to?" Jason asked again, his voice calm and quiet and so content sounding, it seemed to make all three of them relax even more into his embrace.

"I took him out on a-…"

"He took me on a date. It was amazing. First, I didn't think we'd actually do anything, and that he was just trying to give you all the time you needed to get things going, not to mention the fiasco during training, but then he did _so_ many things, guys. He took me for lunch, but then insisted on feeding me, and it should _not_ have been that funny, let me tell you. Then we went to our clearing, and I don't know how he did it, but somehow, in the two and a half minutes we stopped at the Apollo cabin, he managed to get the whole picnic basket prepared and ready, so we lounged around on the blanket, listened to sappy love songs on the radio, and reminisced about the past months, as well as our not-date from December." Nico rambled excitedly, apparently having just waited for his chance.

"It so _was_ a date." Will grumbled from between Percy and Jason, and Percy grinned at them both.

Aww.

"I am _not_ admitting to that." Nico insisted, but then went on about how much it had been like their 'not-date' (Percy would like to know what he thought of _their_ December date, then), yet how different it had been, how they had been so much at ease compared to back then.

Then he rambled about Will singing for him again, and Percy wasn't surprised in the least to find Nico slightly boasting.

He was so adorable.

He was also nearly combusting with giddiness and euphoria.

"And then we went to the Camp Fires together and he made me the best S'mores ever. Also, did you know he can make himself warmer on purpose? Because he totally did."

Aww, he was raving.

"I did not. You said you were cold, so all I did was come closer. I am _not_ a heater." Will put in, but Nico ignored him, instead beginning to move his hands even though they were still lying down.

Percy loved it when he did that.

As if on cue, Nico rolled onto his back to gesticulate better, still rambling about Will, their date, S'mores, their date, Will, their date, Camp Fires, holding hands and taking a walk around the lake, timid kisses, Will, their date, kissing during dates, kissing after dates, Will, Will 'bringing him home and giving him an end-of-the-date-kiss', their date, the way they had nearly cracked up in front of the door because they were both giddy messes (okay, he didn't say that, but it was implied), and how they had then tried to sneak in, only to find Jason still wide awake.

"Sounds like a pretty nice date. Will, you should take us out sometime, too." Jason replied quietly, a fond smile on his face, and Will snorted.

"I only have that many ideas, guys. Wouldn't want to bore you with taking you to the clearing hundreds of times, and picnics only turn out really nice when they're done spontaneously, and one isn't used to them happening."

"Excuses. _I_ wouldn't mind you taking _me_ to the clearing a hundred times, if we get to be as giddy and happy as Nico is right now." He remarked, and Will shot him a pointed look.

"You're still in your afterglow-haze, Perce, so your argument is invalid."

Wow, cruel.

Just brushed off like that.

"You know you love me in my afterglow-haze." He retorted, then wiggled his eyebrows at him, making the blond roll his eyes amused.

"Yeah, yeah. So, you two have sorted out your issues now?"

"What issues?" Jason and Percy asked in unison, and both Will and Nico laughed quietly.

"Told you so." Nico said quietly, and Will huffed.

"Never doubted you, sweetheart. But yeah, you two feel great. No pains, no distress, just satisfaction and bliss and love."

Yeah, Percy was aware.

He glanced at Jason, and found him looking back with that affectionate expression of his again that Percy only got to see so rarely, and a wave of warmth and happiness surged through him.

Will turned to give him a long, knowing look, as if to say 'This is exactly what I'm talking about'.

Percy stuck out his tongue in reply.

(Mature as usual, of course.)

"I almost beat Percy's record." Jason suddenly said, and Percy groaned.

"Lies."

"You know it's true. If you hadn't fallen asleep, we so could have squeezed in two more times to secure my win." Jason retorted, and Percy huffed indignantly, while Will and Nico were dead silent.

Then, Nico groaned.

"You…you…you told him about _that_?"

"Would I ever?" Percy evaded the question sheepishly, looking anywhere but at them and feeling his face heating again.

Damn it!

"He did. He also challenged me to top his performance. And I totally did." Jason boasted, and Percy made a small sound, poking him in the side.

"Lies! We did eight, I did _nine_ with Nico!"

"Yeah, but you had a whole night, I only had the afternoon. Plus, admit it, you already admitted your defeat when you curled into my side and dozed off with a whispered 'I love you'."

"I…what?" He stopped, confusion washing over him.

Wait, he had said _what_?

"Are you two telling me that the first thing you did upon having sex, was to make it into a challenge?" Will asked from between them, his expression one of utter disbelief, and both Percy and Jason stilled, wondering whether they were going to get in trouble now.

…Were they?

"What did you expect? This is Percy and Jason you're talking about. Bet Percy wanted to ask for another round without making it too obvious, so he teased Jason into a competition." Nico deducted behind him, and Percy wailed.

Then he stopped in horror when he realized that was just going to give him away.

Cruel!

How could his own boyfriend be so cruel!

Jason's hand stroked through his hair, but he merely made a face and tried not to meet his eyes.

He knew he had been obvious, but he didn't need to actually admit to it, right?

"Yeah, pretty much. It was amazing. Percy was amazing."

Percy felt a smile tugging on his lips before he could help it, and his eyes automatically hushed to Jason's, just to see him gazing at him so affectionately and fondly again.

"Eh, fair enough, I guess. So, my beauties, given the circumstances, and the fact you have brought it all upon yourself, know that you better don't come crying to me in the morning about any soreness or the like." Will remarked between them, though he shot them both smug grins, as if knowing they _would_ come to him in the morning.

Never.

Plus, what for?

Percy felt _great_.

Well, his throat burned, and his voice was still weird, not to mention his neck seemed to be on fire, but he could live with that.

"We should probably go to sleep. Tomorrow will be more practice, and Percy, you'll have three more classes than usual, because Clarisse said she has to watch Chuck and can't teach spears." Nico informed him, and Percy made a face.

Great.

"Eww. Jason, ravish Percy again and make it even, please. He's feeling upset again. He just felt _so_ nice. Bring it back. Go on, get his afterglow back. I dare you to?" Will suddenly started babbling between them, the last part more sounding like a question than a statement, and Percy shot him a wry look.

Yeah, right.

"I could, but I don't think he's up for another round. He _was_ pretty exhausted." Jason replied, and Percy took offense to that statement.

 _He_ could _totally_ handle more.

"Says the one dropping on top of me like a log several times out of exhaustion." He shot back, and Will snorted, burying his face in his hands, while Nico groaned, apparently knowing this could very well turn into one of their never-ending 'arguments'.

"I told you I was sorry! Plus, you wrapped your arms around me and told me you love it, so don't even start now, Percy."

Wha-…oh, wait, now that he thought about it, he might have said something like that.

Damn.

Percy opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying to think of a good retort, but he couldn't think of anything smart.

"Well, I…I wasn't going to…you were…maybe I didn't mind, but that doesn't take away from the fact you were _much_ more exhausted than I was!" He replied at long last, though it sounded like one of the weakest arguments he had ever uttered.

Jason huffed.

"Well, I _did_ do most of the work. But if you're so fit, why don't you get your sweet, squishy ass over here and show me?"

Why did it feel as if Percy had just dug his own grave?

Will let out a low whistling sound, but nobody spoke, everyone apparently waiting for Percy's reaction.

Well, shit.

Percy felt his face warming, but he stared Jason down defiantly, anyways.

"I…I…maybe I will." He shot back, though he stayed where he was, his blush undoubtedly deepening.

Jason raised an expectant eyebrow, while Will and Nico seemed to wait for what was going to happen next, and Percy found this absolutely unfair.

Was he seriously supposed to move now?

Plus…to do _what_ , exactly?

Wait, was Jason seriously expecting him to _do_ something right now?

As in…like…getting over there…and…and…

Percy was _not_ going to do _anything_ of the sort!

His dick twitched, and he cursed himself.

What was his dick reacting to this for?!

Will snorted, shooting him a look that said he knew exactly what was happening – and since his hand was still on Percy's bare side, he was pretty sure just that was the case.

Great.

Percy made a face, then urged himself to move, groaning when he felt his legs complain, already feeling rather sore.

Ugh, well, nothing for it.

Will rolled over the moment he made to climb over him, at least making things a tad easier for him.

"So stubborn." He heard Will mutter to Nico behind him, the grin almost audible in his voice, but Percy ignored them as he moved to climb onto Jason, flopping down on top of him unceremoniously.

There.

Tadaa.

"Oh wow." Will commented wryly, but Percy ignored that, too, in favor of blinking to himself as he felt Jason's arms wrapping around him slowly, his hands stroking over his back gently.

The blonde took a deep breath, his nose moving to the side of Percy's neck.

"Finally. About time, Percy. I was already starting to miss you."

What the…

Percy felt his face heating and urged himself to pull back a little, so he could look down at Jason and determine whether he was making fun of Percy.

He _sounded_ sincere, but that couldn't possibly-…

Jason smiled up at him warmly, his hands moving to stroke along Percy's cheeks, then through his hair, then back down to his shoulders and back, before stroking up and down his sides slowly, adjusting their position so they could be a tad more comfortable (as comfortable as it could get, anyways).

What the…

"You're such a sap." He remarked, but with his voice all raspy and cracking more out of fluster than anything else, he was pretty sure it more sounded affectionate than chiding.

Jason's warm smile only confirmed that, too.

Will and Nico tried and failed to muffle their snickers next to them, and if Percy's heart wasn't in his throat, and his eyes still fixed on Jason in disbelief, he'd have looked around to glower at them.

As it was, he couldn't take his eyes off Jason.

"What? Come on, you think I'm not going to smother you in love and affection after we spent so many hours rolling in the sheets? My sappiness knows no bounds, Perce." Jason stated seriously, and Percy rolled his eyes, dropping back on top of him.

Ugh, whatever.

"Gorgeous, tell him how much you love him being sappy, he needs assurance just as much as you do. Plus, _I'm_ the one with denial issues, not you, so don't even start that." Will remarked as he came closer again, while Nico moved to get on their other side.

Percy just loved how they simply adjusted like that, as if Jason and Percy 'cuddling' like this was the most normal thing in the world.

He wasn't sure why, but he had kind of expected the two of them to get all close and affectionate in a more 'Hey, don't forget I'm here, too' sort of way.

Instead, they seemed completely fine with Percy and Jason being more focused on each other right now.

Sure, Will had come to push between them, but Percy was pretty sure by now that he had mostly done that to check whether everything was well.

"I…guess I don't really mind." He mumbled quietly.

It wasn't as if Percy had a problem with admitting to stuff like this.

But…this was _Jason_ …and…well…

No matter what Will said about denial issues, Percy simply didn't want to admit to such things in front of _Jason_.

They might be boyfriends/lovers now, and they were still best bros, but…they were also still rivals.

Percy wasn't going to give in and let Jason be the winner.

Ever.

Nope.

The things he might say or think mid-orgasm did _not_ change that fact whatsoever.

"That's not what you said earlier." Jason pointed out cheekily, and Percy unceremoniously pinched his side, making him flinch and chuckle.

"Irrelevant." He brushed him off immediately, and Will and Nico laughed quietly again, coming closer from both sides.

"Of course, darling. So, sleepy time?"

Eh, if they had to.

In a way, Percy would totally be up for another 'sexy time' though.

"Yes, you both need rest. Percy, don't even think about it. You're going to be _crying_ in the morning – which won't be your fault, Jason, so don't even ask. You did everything right, both of you did. But anyways, don't even think about it. We're going to bed. Good night, beauties." Will cut in next to them, and Percy sighed.

Meh, fine.

"And there I thought Jason was the mother hen." He grumbled under his breath, and Nico let out a small laugh, stroking through his hair.

"Jason _is_ the mother hen, cuore mio. But Will is the doc, and you best listen to him."

Probably.

Will seemed to vibrate next to him, and when he made to glance sideways at him, he found him grinning broadly to himself, his eyes already closed, which looked absolutely adorable.

"Yes. Listen to me, I'm the doc. Thank you, babe. Knew you'd have my back."

"No problem, sole mio."

Weren't those two just the sweetest?

"I love you, guys." Percy mumbled, and received three content hums in reply, along with more or less coherent 'I love you'-s that made him smile.

Especially when a half-asleep Jason also professed his love to him, as well.

Percy closed his eyes, the soft smile still playing on his lips as he snuggled against Jason, knowing full well they'd end this embrace once they were completely asleep, so he wanted to make the most of it for as long as possible.

This had surely been one successful day.

"Thank you, sun-bug." He mumbled with a content sigh, and Will's hand stroked over his arm, apparently knowing full well what he was talking about.

"Anytime, Gorgeous."

Percy loved his boyfriends, had he mentioned?


	7. Chapter 7: The Days After

**A/N:** Hey there Cupcakes :D

Wow, what a week x_x

Anyways, here comes the next chapter :D

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback so far, you guys are the best!  
Special thanks also to my wonderful beta-reader(s) of course!

No, but seriously, thanks for everything cupcakes :)

On another note: WTF IT'S ALMOST NOVEMBER IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS THE YEAR IS ALMOST OVER WHEN HAS THIS HAPPENED?!

(Guys, idk if you noticed, but this year only has like 10 weeks left!?)

Wish you all the best, and a great week ahead~  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 07: The Days After**

When Percy woke up the next morning, the first thing he did was groan, his entire body _aching_.

Ugh, what had he done, run a marathon? Taken on a titan? _Damn_ …

Percy groaned again, then stretched his sore limbs, feeling all his muscles complaining in response.

Horrible, absolutely _horrible_.

Seriously, what had he…oh…

There was shifting next to him, and he pried his eyes open to glower at Jason, who was very much asleep, a peaceful smile on his face, and his arms tightly wrapped around Nico, hogging him even though Nico kept grumbling and wriggling in his hold, as if heavily displeased with this arrangement.

 _Jason_.

Percy glowered a moment longer, but didn't have the heart to wake him.

Instead, he sulked and turned his back to him, just to promptly groan again.

Everything _hurt_.

His head hurt, his lips felt swollen, his neck was hot and painful, his nipples seemed unusually sensitive, his sides ached, his wrists hurt, his _ass_ hurt, and his legs…gods, he was never going to move _his legs_ again.

How had Nico been able to travel after their first time(s)?

Percy wasn't ever going to leave this bed, at least not for the next some years.

There was shifting next to him, and he opened his eyes to find Will moving about on his other side, still asleep, but frowning as if he was beginning to wake.

The next moment, the blonde blinked his eyes open groggily, gazing at him with sleepy, bright-blue eyes.

If Percy wasn't so damn sore, he'd smile at the sight and reach out to stroke over his cheek.

As it was, he merely groaned again miserably and turned his face into the pillow.

"Told you so." Will remarked unimpressed as he sat up, and Percy whined quietly, though the sound seemed too high-pitched for his poor throat.

Ugh, he was going to _die_.

This was it.

This was how he was going to meet his end.

"I'm never having sex again." He croaked, shocked by how weak and brittle his voice was, and he promptly whined again (or tried to, anyways).

Will, that unsentimental, heartless ass, _chuckled_ next to him.

"Oh really?" He asked, not sounding convinced in the slightest as he stroked over Percy's back with one hand.

The touch felt nice, but Percy would feel _a lot_ better if Will was at least a little bit compassionate.

He was suffering here!

"Yes. Fuck his dick. Never again." He complained, but most of his sentence was indistinguishable due to the pillow and his dying voice.

Great.

Will seemed to get the gist, anyways, though he merely chuckled again in response.

So cruel.

And there Percy had thought Will loved him.

"That's what you get for overdoing it, Gorgeous. Alright, can you move?" Will chided, then clapped him on the shoulder, and Percy winced.

He made to get up, but merely groaned and flopped right back down immediately again.

"I'm not going to move again. Ever. Tell my mom I love her. And Nico. And yourself. Oh, and tell Jason he can go and fuck himself." He lamented, then wanted to scream because his voice was so utterly _horrible_!

Will snorted, then started shifting closer, until he suddenly straddled Percy and sat down on his thighs, his hands on Percy's back.

It would have felt so nice, if only his legs didn't ache this much.

Percy whined again, but Will ignored him.

"So dramatic. Come on, try and relax a bit."

He'd relax a lot more if he wasn't _dying_.

"You're not dying, sweetheart. Just very, _very_ sore. At least he prepared you fairly well. He also marked you, Perce. Like, _a lot_. I'm not sure he'll appreciate me getting rid of all of these…" Will mused, tapping the undoubtedly bright red/purple bruises on Percy's neck, then the ones on the back of it, then those on his shoulders, one after another and another and…oh dear, there surely were a lot…

Followed by a few _more_ spots on his back that had come to existence when Jason had grabbed him and spun him around before pushing him into the bed, thrusting into him from behind and making him see stars…

Percy certainly liked _that_ memory.

Sadly, he so didn't like the way his body ached right now, else he might have been moved to reconsider his earlier statement.

Nope, he was never bottoming again.

How could Nico have possibly liked this?

How could he have even gone through this without telling Percy?

He had never even suspected it feeling _this_ bad for Nico.

Gods, he was going to be _so_ gentle with him from here on out.

No wonder Will had almost used an entire bottle of lube to prepare Nico.

 _He_ was going to use _a whole_ bottle of lube, and then still be as gentle as possible.

Not to mention that he'd take _much_ better care of Nico afterwards.

Some nice, relaxing baths, a massage or two, lots of staying-in-bed-and-forgetting-about-any-other-plans…

Yes.

Absolutely.

Will touched the mark on his butt, and Percy whined rather pathetically, but he couldn't help it.

"Damn, he really went all out, huh? You know, I'd be worried, but…you _did_ agree to this, right?"

Something about Will's voice gave Percy pause, and he realized a moment later what it was.

Turning his head, he met Will's forcefully neutral look, though he could see the underlying uncertainty.

"I did. I asked for most of this." He croaked, feeling his heart aching at the realization Will would be worried about _that_.

This was _Jason_.

Will should know Jason would never do anything like…like _Kyle_ had done.

Then again, maybe Will did know, but couldn't help it, anyways.

He had told Percy a lot of things, after all, and none of them nice.

Leaving 'marks' had been on that list, too, and back then, Percy had only been able to shudder in response.

He couldn't even begin to imagine what strain this had to put on Will, seeing _Percy_ marked like that.

Maybe he shouldn't bother him with this.

Hell, he really shouldn't.

If he just put some effort into it, he would probably be able to move just fine, and a nice shower would undoubtedly help him feel a bit better, too.

"Good then. Percy, stop breaking your head. I'm fine with this. I knew you liked it rough, and I knew he'd be able to give you what you needed. Just had to make sure neither of you got carried away or misunderstood anything. That's all. Let me worry for my lovely boyfriends, okay?" Will chided, but Percy wasn't assured.

Will's finger stroked over Percy's mark on his butt again, and Percy only realized then that he was still _naked_.

Oh gods, that…okay, actually, that wasn't half as embarrassing as he thought it would be.

Maybe because they had gone through so many naked cuddles by now.

(Bless them, really. Best thing in the world.)

It didn't even feel awkward, and Will made no sign that it bothered him, while he also didn't make a big deal out of it, whatsoever.

He simply seemed to accept it, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Percy kind of liked it.

It certainly put him at ease.

Will's hands moved back up to his shoulders, then he started massaging gently.

"You know, no matter what Jason might have said, he was very anxious about everything. He wanted to have sex with you, but at the same time, he wasn't sure you really wanted him to. But he knew that, if he asked you, you'd probably get offended, or think he was trying to belittle you or whatever, and he didn't want to urge you into saying yes. It took quite a while for me to assure him you _did_ want him. Though I wasn't sure he'd really go along with the rigged game until he held up 'Scissors'. Just thought you should know." Will explained quietly, and Percy frowned to himself, his heartbeat speeding up slightly.

Really?

Why?

Percy hadn't exactly given Jason reason to believe he didn't want him, after all, right?

He found he had been rather obvious about it.

"Then again, Jason only recently noticed how dominant he can get, and only towards you, so he was struggling with that a lot, too. I actually think it's because of your bromance, and because of the way you are with him, Perce. It gets to him, and your bounciness makes him want to ground you. With Nico and me, he more feels compelled to protect us and keep us safe and enamored, so we can't start doubting ourselves or feel down. So he's naturally gentler with us than he is with you, where he knows you can take a lot more and aren't as easy of a target to outside forces. Plus, he loves how submissive you get, Perce. It gets to him on a whole different level than Nico or I ever could. I'm actually surprised nothing ever happened between you two before." Will continued, and it might have been Percy's imagination, but he could swear Will's hands were warming on his back, his touch sending a sort of soothing sensation through Percy now.

Or maybe his massages were simply that good.

(Or maybe both.)

"Me too." He croaked, then winced as his throat seemed to rip open at his words.

Seriously, that's what he got for crying out so much during their special times yesterday.

And there he wasn't even a screamer.

How did _Will_ sound after sex? Would he have a hoarse throat, too?

…Had it been this painful for him in the past, too?

Percy was lucky; he had three boyfriends who'd make sure he was okay, and would probably even stay right here with him all day long if he asked them to, no matter their responsibilities or the like.

But Will didn't have that back then.

Will had gone through much worse than a sore body and an aching throat, and he had been left to fend for himself.

No wonder he had become so good at healing, he must have tried out each and every possible thing he could think of to patch himself up somehow.

Thinking about it, Will had actually told him something like that, too.

"You're thinking weird stuff again, Percy. Seriously, you're almost as bad as Jason. Just enjoy my massage, alright? Or have I already given you so many massages that you can't appreciate them anymore?" Will chided, and Percy turned his head, noticing the movement sent a lot less pain through him than earlier.

Maybe he was already getting better?

His eyes fell on Will's arms, which were glowing a warm gold.

 _Oh_.

Or Will was healing him.

Of course.

"I thought you can only heal when you're singing hymns?" He asked confused, wondering faintly how Will even managed to contact his dad when they were in the Hades cabin, but Will snorted and looked at him as if that was the craziest thing he had ever heard.

"Nah, I'm using my own powers for this, and then singing is optional, though the hymns usually help focus. You better appreciate it, Perce. Now get back to relaxing, you dork."

Oh, okay, that made more sense, then.

"You don't have to, you know…" He mumbled, though he moved his face back into the pillow, anyways, enjoying Will's touches more and more as he started feeling the tension in his muscles ease up.

"I know. But I want to. Let me make you feel good." Will replied quietly, and Percy hummed, shifting a bit to stretch out more.

Will moved his hands down his back at a slow, rather nice pace that wasn't rushed in any way and allowed him to thoroughly enjoy it, and silence settled back over them, Nico and Jason still sleeping peacefully next to them.

Will stayed at his lower back for a longer while, moving his thumbs from his spine to his sides, as if rubbing something away.

Percy kind of expected him to finish up then, or move back up.

Will didn't do either.

Instead, he moved his hands downwards to Percy's butt, making him tense and his face warm.

Okay, now he was definitely aware of being naked, okay?

"Relax, I'm not going to do anything. Just making sure you can actually _sit_ later." Will remarked with a hint of amusement in his voice, and Percy felt his face heating even more.

"I…I wouldn't mind if you…I wouldn't mind." He mumbled awkwardly, and felt Will's hands still.

Okay, he shouldn't have said anything.

"Oh really? What happened to the whole 'I'm never having sex again'-statement?"

Let it be known, Will was a horrible tease.

His glee was practically _audible_ in his voice; Percy didn't even have to look around!

"I changed my mind." He grumbled, and Will chuckled quietly, his hands giving his backside an affectionate squeeze.

"About having sex, or about not minding if _we_ had sex?" He asked cheekily, and Percy made a small sound, hiding his face further in the pillow.

"Leave me alone."

"So you want me to stop?" Will asked, and for a moment, Percy thought he was seriously going to pull back.

"No! Keep going…please…" He instantly exclaimed and pushed back into Will's hands, which had both of them freezing in surprise, and Percy looking around with a beet-red face.

The _shame_.

Gods, Jason was going to _pay_ for turning Percy into such a submissive mess yesterday!

It was _all his fault_ that he was being this way now, with _Will_ nonetheless!

Will met his gaze, his expression one of stunned surprise, his cheeks slightly flushed, and his hands firmly cupping Percy's butt.

Yes, this was awkward.

Percy wondered faintly whether they'd _ever_ have a normal morning.

Or maybe this _was_ their normal morning…

Will cleared his throat, then put on a cheeky smile.

"Aren't you just adorable? Well, if you enjoy it that much, I'll of course continue."

Percy relaxed, glad Will wasn't teasing him about that blunder.

He made a noncommittal sound in reply, then turned his head back to rest it on his arms, trying to relax and just let Will do his thing.

It _did_ feel rather good, after all.

A bit weird, but kind of good.

Also, _warm_.

But a nice sort of warm, not a sweaty, uncomfortable heat or anything.

Percy sighed contently.

Yeah, he could totally get used to this.

Will leaned down, his lips pressing against Percy's shoulder blade in a gentle kiss, and Percy smiled to himself.

Yep, this felt _awesome_.

"You feel so nice, Percy." Will purred, and Percy's grin widened when he started trailing kisses from his shoulder to the side of his neck, now feeling _a lot_ better than earlier.

"You're lucky to have a healer for a boyfriend, you know?" Will pointed out cheekily, then kissed his jaw, and Percy hummed.

 _Boyfriend_.

Percy knew he shouldn't be this euphoric every time one of them pointed it out, but he simply was.

"Yeah, I know." He replied with a soft sigh, turning his head to meet Will's lips in a chaste kiss.

Oh, he felt _so_ much better.

In fact, he had no idea what his problem had been earlier.

He must have hopelessly exaggerated.

Everything felt _great_.

"Mmh, somebody seems pleased with himself and the world." Will hummed against his ear before tugging on it, his hands now abandoning Percy's backside to stroke over his sides in such a _nice_ way, it made Percy want to _purr_.

"I love it when you feel like this, Percy. Content and happy. Oh…though now I'll have to add 'slightly turned on', won't I?" Will continued, moving his face back to the side of Percy's neck, his body moving until his clothed groin was pushing against Percy's butt.

It took all of his self-control not to push back against him.

Not yet.

He was not _that_ needy, nor desperate.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He replied meekly, realizing with a jolt just how breathless he sounded.

Wait, when had he started panting?

And why?

There his voice was finally coming back to him slowly, and he promptly risked losing it, again.

Will hummed against his skin and pressed some more kisses to it, while his hands were busy exploring Percy's sides and back.

"You're so expressive, Percy. Is there actually anything you _don't_ like, at all?" Will asked quietly, completely ignoring Percy's act of oblivion.

Rude.

Also, Percy had no idea what to reply to that.

Luckily, Will didn't seem to expect an answer, since he hummed again and started kissing him more and more, moving from his neck to his back and down his spine.

Percy certainly liked _that_.

Seriously, though, this felt so good.

Will was so gentle, so unlike Jason had been yesterday (at least not like this), but it still felt so _nice_.

Percy couldn't help but sigh again contently and worry his bottom lip as he enjoyed Will's ministrations.

"Mmh, you know, I should probably stop. Due to the healing, I don't think I'd do a very good job at seducing you right now, Gorgeous. Wouldn't want to get you all hot and bothered and not be able to follow up on it, after all, right?" Will mumbled behind him as he kissed his way down to his lower back – just to stop at his former Achilles' spot, which _really_ shouldn't be sensitive anymore after all this time.

But the patch of skin didn't care, and neither did Will as he started teasing said patch of skin with his lips, tongue and teeth.

Percy groaned into the pillow, partly cursing and partly blessing this morning.

Anyways, hadn't Will _just_ said he wanted to stop?

"Don't stop." He blurted, and Will huffed against his skin.

"Guess you're already hot and bothered, huh?" Will remarked, and if Percy didn't have to go through the whole turning-around ordeal again to look at his boyfriend, he'd have glowered at him.

But he didn't, instead burying his face in the pillow as much as he could, before letting another moan slip, the sound muffled, but still way too audible.

He didn't want to wake up Jason or Nico.

A part of him still believed it would serve Jason right after not waking up before to take care of him when he was in pain, (not to mention the fact he was the very _cause_ for this, in the first place), but the rest of him agreed that the blonde deserved his sleep much more than any petty revenge.

Especially since said petty revenge was mostly uncalled for anyways, since Percy had kind of brought his earlier pains upon himself, really.

It _had_ been him to spur Jason on, after all.

Plenty enough times.

"Are you sure you don't want to…?" He asked meekly, not exactly wanting to sound desperate, but he couldn't deny feeling slightly disappointed.

After all, Will's only argument against sex had been that he was exhausted, right?

There were ways to help that, though…

"Don't tempt me, Gorgeous. We're not having our first time with me all sluggish and not holding out for very long. I already had bad luck during our first time with Nico and Jason, when it was so late already that it affected me. I'm not going to embarrass myself now." Will rambled, though his hands were back on Percy's backside no moment later, anyways, kneading gently, and with Percy this turned on and dazed, that felt _wonderful_.

Oh, come on, who cared how long Will would hold out?

"It…I wouldn't mind, at all…" Percy tried tentatively, and felt Will moving back up to his neck, burying his face at the side of his neck as his groin pushed back against Percy's backside, more insistently this time, and allowing him to feel the hard outline of Will's dick.

 _Yes_.

Was Percy begging for it? Yeah, kind of.

Was he ashamed of it? Nope, at least not right now.

"Another morning, babe. I promise." Will suddenly breathed, _clearly_ as turned on as Percy, but then, his cruel, horrible boyfriend _pulled away_.

Percy whined and turned his head, the sound loud and unmasked and full of need and despair.

Will stilled, gazing at him in surprise.

Percy felt his face heating.

He couldn't help it, okay?

"Percy…" Will started hesitantly, but Percy was already pushing himself up, a part of him still amazed by how easily he could move again, but the rest of him was too busy screaming for Will's touch.

The next moment, he cupped his boyfriend's face and drew him into a _real_ kiss, and Will went along with it immediately, his hands settling on Percy's sides and giving him a slight squeeze that had him panting against his lips.

 _Yes_!

"Percy…" Will repeated, though now it was much more of a sigh than the beginning of a sentence, and Percy took it as permission to continue, licking his way into Will's mouth.

Hands tugged him closer until he was on Will's lap, and Percy rubbed against him shamelessly.

After his times yesterday with Jason, there was no way this would faze him now.

He had done much worse than this back then, after all.

They both tilted their heads to deepen the kiss(es), and Percy loved the small sounds that escaped Will – not full-out moans yet, but signs he enjoyed what they were doing, anyways.

Percy tugged on his bottom lip as he pulled back, unable to help it.

He had to ask, like, right now.

"Can I blow you?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized how out of the blue and _blunt_ that sounded, though now it was too late to take them back.

He almost thought Will would stiffen or at least look confused, but Will merely moved his fingers through Percy's hair and pulled him back into a kiss.

"Yes, please." He breathed against his lips, and Percy's heart soared.

Alright, this morning wasn't too bad, after all.

He placed a few more kisses all over Will's face, making him giggle, then he gave his earlobe a gentle tug, drawing a soft moan from his lips.

If he hadn't been high with the prospect of a blowjob, he'd have probably stayed; would have teased Will's ears and lured all those wonderful sounds out of him; would have _slowly_ made his way down his body.

But…he _was_ high with the prospect of a blowjob, so he was already moving downwards the next moment, his hands tugging on the waistband of Will's boxer shorts.

The blonde shifted, then managed to lift his hips so Percy could pull the annoying fabric down and off those wonderful, freckled legs.

Oh, he loved those legs.

He hadn't yet had the chance to get all that close to them yet, though.

Especially not with his mouth.

Percy let his hands stroke over them agonizingly slowly, remembering all the times he had touched them the past months.

All the times he had touched them or brushed against them and not thought anything of it.  
All the times he had touched them and felt his heart skip a beat.  
All the times he had touched them when he thought nobody else would notice, indulging himself even though he knew he shouldn't.  
All the times he had yearned to touch them, but hadn't been able to.

Now he was able to.

Will spread his legs, looking slightly flustered at either being naked, or exposing himself like this to Percy, and Percy shot him a reassuring smile before moving down between them and placing a timid, gentle kiss to his thigh.

The blonde bit his lip and watched, but didn't stop him, so Percy smiled and continued, his hands stroking over the smooth, tanned skin, while his lips and tongue started teasing all the freckles he could find.

There were a lot of freckles.

Percy moved to his inner thighs, and found Will gasping softly.

Yeah, Nico was rather sensitive there, too.

Knowing how sensitive Will was when it came to pain, he decided not to try and bite, though he _did_ try to suck gently, and Will's loud gasp and the groan that followed told him he certainly liked _that_.

"Fuck, I told Jason my legs aren't… _oh_ …" Will hissed, then gasped again, and Percy smirked against his skin, now high on the sounds.

Then again, he had kind of forgotten what he had wanted to do, in the first place.

He gazed up at Will as he switched sides, and as he let his eyes travel back down Will's body, he spotted that wonderful ( _freckled_!) dick, immediately refreshing his memory.

Oh.

 _Oh!_

Percy nipped at Will's skin gently, humming when he felt him twitch and tremble, another low gasp escaping his lips.

A part of Percy wanted to stay, wanted to tease him a while longer, wanted to indulge in apparently getting to his legs _before_ Jason or Nico had, but the temptation was too great.

So, instead, he started kissing his way to Will's dick, amazed by Will's sounds, the growing trembling, and the more than obvious twitching of his dick.

 _Eager_.

Percy inwardly smirked at getting to think that about Will, when Jason had teased him so much about _his_ eagerness just yesterday.

His breath hitched in his throat right when he got to his destination, and he blushed slightly.

Yeah, okay, he was eager too, he admitted to it.

He glanced up at Will sheepishly, but Will only gazed back with heavy-lidded eyes and his lips parted slightly, his breathing already way too ragged considering that Percy hadn't even started yet.

He loved seeing Will like that.

He hadn't gotten to see him like this very often yet, but he absolutely intended to.

Percy started stroking him with one hand, finally pressing his lips against the shaft, and Will gasped softly, his eyes falling shut for a moment, before he tore them open again, intently watching.

Percy kind of liked the thought of being watched, even though it made him self-conscious a bit.

Or maybe especially because of that.

He closed his eyes and started to place open mouthed kisses against Will's pulsing dick, allowing his tongue to dart out and explore, making his way up and down and around, set on avoiding the tip just to tease Will a little.

It worked.

"You freaking _tease_ …" Will gasped, sounding wonderfully offended, and Percy had to pull away slightly to grin up at him cheekily.

Will huffed, gazing down at him with a hot, wanting look.

Then, Percy felt his hands moving back into Percy's hair, and he was tugged back closer to Will's dick.

" _Percy._ "

It wasn't a plea, but it also wasn't an order.

Percy didn't care what it was, he immediately went to wrap his lips around Will's dick, anyways.

Who was he to deny his boyfriend anything?

Percy's tongue darted out for its first taste of Will's pre-cum, and he felt Will tensing and trembling slightly as he let out a soft moan, his grip on Percy's hair tightening.

Oh, he loved that.

He had kind of hoped yesterday to get away with blowing Jason, especially when he had realized Jason would be much more likely to actually _control_ Percy (not that…he'd ever admit to liking the thought of that…), but then they had gotten carried away too quickly, and he had forgotten all about it.

Will wasn't even half as forceful as Jason by nature, but Percy was pretty sure that, if _anybody_ knew what felt good to Percy, it was Will, and the blonde was the sort of person to make use of that information.

He sucked on his tip lightly, then started moving down, his hand stroking the base of it slowly.

Will had said he was exhausted (at least he had implied it), so Percy assumed he'd more appreciate a slow approach, rather than getting swept off his feet.

Yeah, Percy could be so considerate, right?

(Percy was also set on enjoying each and every second of this, so that might be another reason why he wanted to draw it out for as long as possible.)

No, seriously, this felt so good.

He didn't understand why he liked it so much, but he adored the texture, the taste, the feeling of his boyfriend's dick sliding in and out of his mouth – and in and out of his throat when he tried to see just how far he could go.

Percy wasn't sure whether the other three felt the same way, but he knew _he_ could do this all day long.

He loved doing this.

Absolutely. Loved. It.

Will gave his hair a sharp tug as he bobbed his head up and down, and he moaned softly at the sensations it sent through him, not to mention the way he was urged to take in more of Will.

"You…you like that?" Will asked dazedly, panting and gasping, and Percy wanted to nod, but couldn't, so he tried to hum in reply.

The blonde groaned, his dick twitching in Percy's mouth.

Anticipation filled him, though he wasn't sure what he was more excited about.

The prospect of Will coming, or the prospect of Will making use of his now confirmed knowledge and actually moving Percy.

"Can you deepthroat?" Will asked, and Percy hesitated for a moment.

With Nico? Yes.

(At least if he put his mind to it and could test the waters a few times before doing it for longer than a second or two.)

With Will? No idea.

They seemed roughly the same size, but he couldn't really tell.

Somehow, of all the things he had paid attention to, that hadn't been one of them.

All he knew was that Jason was bigger than him.

(Which still annoyed the hell out of him.)

He hummed again, hoping he was right.

Will gave him a slow, deliberate tug, and Percy stopped bobbing his head, allowing Will to lead.

"Are you sure?" His boyfriend asked, and Percy gave him a long, pointed look.

 _Please_ , he was _dying_ to do this.

The corners of Will's lips twitched into a small smile for a moment, then he bit his bottom lip, his hands slowly beginning to move Percy's head up and down.

Percy closed his eyes, humming to show he was okay.

Will was way too gentle.

Way too careful.

Even more careful than Nico had been in the past.

" _Fuck_ …" Will breathed, and Percy _probably_ shouldn't feel that proud of his words, the wistfulness in his voice, or the way his hands trembled as he pushed Percy down further onto his dick.

But he absolutely was.

He took a deep breath when Will pulled him back up, then dared to attempt to suck a little, though not too much, since he had no idea what Will might do next.

He liked not knowing.

Usually, he hated it.

But it certainly had something nice to it, giving up control.

Letting Will be the one in control.

Letting him lead.

Percy trusted him, and the thought of not knowing his next move only filled him with excitement and anticipation, not dread or uncertainty.

Was that weird?

Percy didn't know.

But it didn't feel weird.

It felt amazing.

Will gave his hair a sharp tug, then moaned and pushed him back down, and Percy couldn't help but gasp, adjusting his position for a better angle before allowing Will's dick to slide into his throat.

Oh _yes_.

" _Percy_!" Will gasped, making it sound as if _Percy_ had decided to go this far, even though _he_ was the one moving him, pulling him up and pushing him back down, over and over again, the sounds escaping his lips becoming louder and wilder.

Percy tried to hum faintly, then right-out moaned around Will as he slid down the last few inches to the base.

He was deep-throating Will's dick.

His Will's dick.

 _Will Solace's_ dick.

Will was panting heavily, and Percy decided to risk it and swallow tentatively, making Will gasp and groan as he tipped his head back and started moving Percy's head up and down again.

Gods, this felt good.

More than good.

Percy closed his eyes again and concentrated on the task at hand, leaving his jaw loose as Will picked up his pace, his hips jolting slightly each time he pushed Percy down.

He wondered faintly whether Will would thrust up into his mouth if he was laying down.

Sadly, he couldn't make himself stop this to ask him whether he wanted to.

"Now that's a sight I wouldn't mind waking up to more often." A voice next to them rasped wistfully, and they both glanced sideways at Nico, who had sat up and was watching with an expression of pleasant surprise and lust.

Jason was awake, too, lying on his side and watching with a similarly affected and appreciating look.

 _Well_.

Percy might have been tempted to make a smart remark or grin at them smugly for getting to blow Will, but then Will made a cut through his plans by tugging harshly on his hair, and he moaned instead, as Will moved him back up and down his dick again.

"He's fucking amazing at this." Will gasped, and Percy took pride in the statement.

Praise from Will Solace, who'd have thought?

"Told you so." Nico remarked, and Percy felt his heart thump happily in his chest as he decided to try and put in a bit more effort to be worthy of their high opinion.

" _Yes_. Sh-…Percy, okay, I'm close." Will rasped, and Percy hummed as Will pulled him almost entirely off his dick, before pushing him back down all the way.

Oh, he certainly liked _that_.

Percy shifted and pushed himself up when he felt his leg falling asleep, then realized how much that exposed him to Nico and Jason.

Will stopped him from thinking about that for very long though by letting out small cries as he picked up his pace, keeping Percy down now and more rutting into his mouth than the other way around.

Percy loved it, though he had to admit breathing wasn't the easiest with his nose squished at Will's pubic bone.

Not that breathing was particularly easy while deep-throating, anyways.

He didn't stop Will, though, too high on his sounds and the sensations rushing through him as Will kept thrusting into Percy's mouth, and too much into the way his hands were gripping his hair as if his life was depending on it.

Percy knew he'd lose some strands, but, by the gods, it felt amazing, and all he could do was moan around Will's dick and hope he wouldn't choke, his hand shooting to his own dick when he couldn't stop himself anymore.

He had tried to focus solely on this, but he could feel himself leaking, and his erection was getting near painful, so…yeah.

"Percy." Jason's voice reached him even through Will's needy, breathless chanting of Percy's name and his hands pressing Percy's face into his groin, and Percy wanted to groan, automatically dropping his hand again.

Oh, come on, _please_.

He had been hard even before Will had been!

Couldn't anybody have mercy on him?!

The mattress shifted, and something – or rather, _somebody_ – pressed against his backside that was still sticking up, as embarrassing as it might be.

Jason's hands grabbed hold of his sides, and this time, Percy _did_ moan around Will's dick.

Which nearly choked him, but it was absolutely worth it when Will suddenly cried out loudly, his whole body drawing together around Percy as his hands practically clawed Percy's hair, and Percy knew the blonde was coming even before he felt his dick tensing and twitching.

Okay, deep-throating during an orgasm was both the most exhilarating and the most frightening thing in the world.

Because Percy knew that, right now, Will would _not_ be able to react in time to let go of him or any of the sort, should he choke.

Plus, cum in his mouth was okay, cum down his throat made him momentarily dread he'd get it into his trachea.

Percy swallowed once, twice, three times, not daring to breathe, and only managed to relax once he realized he had managed alright, since Will's dick was going limp, and his hold on Percy started loosening.

"That…that was…that was freaking…oh gods, I think I'm going to faint." Will rambled breathlessly, letting go of Percy's hair completely to move them through his own hair, then over his face.

Percy grinned up at him cheekily, wiggling his eyebrows.

"That good?"

"Shut up and get laid, Gorgeous." Will shot back, though he didn't have the usual heat in his voice, too out of breath to even muster his usual unimpressed expression.

Nico moved towards the blonde immediately, cupping his face to draw him into a quick kiss, before offering to bring him a glass of water (yeah, sure, bring _him_ a glass of water, while Percy had done all the work here), though that turned into both of them moving towards the bathroom for both water and a shower.

Wait, were they just going to leave him here?

Alone?

Untouched and leaking and in desperate need for relief?

Hands stroked over his sides again, and he had to admit he had almost forgotten about Jason being behind him.

Scratch that, he _had_ forgotten, since Jason had pulled away the moment Will had started coming, probably to give Percy an escape route, should he need it.

"Is this okay?" Jason asked, his voice low and seductive, and if Percy hadn't been sure about his reply, he sure was now.

He pushed his upper body further down into the mattress, and thrust his butt up higher, unable to feel very self-conscious when Jason now had his hands on his backside, squeezing it in that exact same way he had yesterday, right before taking Percy to seventh heaven time and time again.

" _Yes_." He replied with a small gasp, and wasn't surprised in the slightest when Jason pulled his hands away and he heard a bottle opening.

Oh yes, this morning was off to a _wonderful_ start.

Percy smirked to himself, feeling Jason's fingers beginning to explore again.

Mmh, yes, a _perfect_ start into the day, most definitely.

...

The day, as well as the next three, passed in what Will liked to refer to as "Jason and Percy's wild days of making up for lost time".

(Or just 'Wild days' for short.)

Because, well, that was definitely what was happening.

When he had woken up to Percy being in pain, he had to admit he had momentarily worried about the intensity of their lovemaking, but since he had had the pleasure of exiting the bathroom (after a _very_ satisfying blowjob from Percy that was going to be the highlight of his life forever) and catching them right in the middle of it, he…sort of knew they were hopeless.

Seriously, Jason's whole attitude took a 180 when it came to Percy and sex, and Percy was even more of a submissive mess than Will had ever thought possible.

He was still amazed neither of them had broken anything yet, including themselves and each other.

They had had sex that morning, then again right after breakfast, then Will had been gone for _two hours_ , just to come back to the cabin and finding them at it _again_ , even though it was barely lunch, and even training hadn't exhausted Percy enough to not let Jason sweep him off his feet again in the evening.

The next two days hadn't passed much differently, either, other than the fact that Nico had been thrown into the mix a couple of times, too.

Will had stayed out of it.

He knew Jason wasn't _hurting_ Percy, but seeing him treating Percy that rough had made Will's skin crawl and unpleasant memories resurface, so he had taken to doing other things in the meantime, or timing it in a way to ensure he wouldn't be there.

He _knew_ Jason wouldn't hurt them.

Knew he wouldn't hurt _Will_.

And he could still talk to him just fine, could kiss him just fine, could touch him and be touched by him (especially when they had taken a shower together and Jason had gotten him off in a rather very nice way, all kind and gentle as usual).

He simply couldn't be around when he and Percy were at it.

Will wondered faintly whether he should worry, since those two had been having sex more times now than all four of them had, together – but at the same time, they had only just managed to work things out between them, and were _still_ working things out between them, so Will really couldn't blame them.

He also couldn't really make himself worry too much.

In a way, it really felt as if they were just catching up on all the time they could have spent rolling in the sheets and hadn't.

Plus, Nico didn't seem very worried, so Will was pretty sure everything was okay.

Though it was ironic that the two with the lowest sex-drive would end up having the most sex – and with each other, too.

But who was he to judge?

(After all, with those two all over each other, Will had been free to tease and play with Nico much more, and that had to be one of the best things in the world, so he _really_ wasn't complaining.)

This was also great exercise for him, too.

Percy still needed healing every here and there, after all.

Not as much as after the first night, but he got sore rather easily, and the marks Jason kept leaving on him (on utter purpose, too) did look way too brutal for the innocent eyes of other campers, so Will always patched him up at the end of the day, or the start of another, and healed the dark red marks on his neck several times in between (seriously, those two…).

Now, on the third day after their first time, things seemed to slowly be calming down, though.

At least, when Will was searching for his boyfriends with lunch in his hands, he found them sitting next to each other near the lake, with Percy being openly affectionate and resting his head against Jason's shoulder, while Jason had an arm around him and stroked his side – so that was certainly an improvement from finding them all over each other first chance they got.

Will smiled, making his way over as he wondered faintly how they could look so _innocent_ when they were like this, while they were truly anything but.

"Hey there, beauties." He greeted, flopping down onto the ground next to Percy's other side, and they both looked around at him with small smiles and soft looks in their eyes.

"Hey. Long time no see. Jason picked me up from training to make sure I 'get a break'. Can you believe it? The kids looked at him as if he was crazy." Percy told him with a look of affection and pride, and Will wondered faintly whether Jason had actually 'picked him up' and carried him out of the arena.

He wouldn't put it past Jason, even if it sounded more like something Percy would come up with.

But he had a hunch that, if he asked now and that wasn't the case, he'd only be giving them bad ideas.

"Oh really? Yeah, sounds crazy to me, too. Isn't Jason the one who _kept_ you from getting a break by ravishing you 24/7 the past days?" He asked instead with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows, and was rather satisfied to see Percy's ears and Jason's neck turning pink.

Ha.

"That…no, that made for a _great_ break, I have no idea what you're talking about." Percy insisted, while Jason was busy adjusting his glasses.

Aw, they could be so adorable.

"Right. So, anyways, I brought lunch." True, he had come here with a purpose, after all, not to gaze at his boyfriends and daydream.

Though he was still going to do that, anyways.

"Thanks, Freckles. You know you don't have to, though, right?" Jason asked as Will held out the food to them, but before he could reply, Percy already squealed and snatched his lunch.

" _Food!_ "

Yep, that was the Percy he knew and loved.

Will and Jason exchanged telling looks, then watched Percy devouring his sandwich in record time.

Damn, when had he last eaten?

Shaking his head to himself, Will reached out to stroke through his boyfriend's hair.

It was growing so fast.

Why was it growing so fast?

No, it didn't matter.

Everything was okay.

He still had time.

"'s something wrong?" Percy suddenly asked around a mouthful of sandwich, and Will blinked, realizing his smile must have turned sad.

He made a face and flicked Percy's forehead as he clicked his tongue.

"Nope, I'm fine. Just thinking you're a pig, Gorgeous. Such a messy eater."

Percy looked so wonderfully offended at that, and he even tried to complain with an indignant 'Excuse you, I'm _not_ a messy eater!', but sadly, most of that sentence was lost due to him speaking with a third of his sandwich still in his mouth.

Such manners.

Will raised his eyebrows at him unimpressed, and Percy scowled, though he at least stopped and took his time to chew and swallow completely before attempting to speak again.

"Anyways, you looked sad for a moment. Everything okay? Did something happen?"

Wow, he thought he had just led away from that topic?

Hello, was anybody even listening when he said he was fine?

 _Rude_.

"Nope. I'm fine." He repeated, and wasn't happy about the stern look both Percy _and_ Jason shot him.

What?

What had he said?

His boyfriends exchanged a pointed look, then Jason gave a small shake of his head, and Percy let out a long, deep sigh.

"Alright. Well, Jason and I were talking…"

"Yeah, I gathered as much. You know, with you two _not_ all over each other and such…" Will cut in with a crooked grin, and was promptly nudged in the side by a blushing Percy.

"Oh _shush_ , will you? You're just jealous. No, but actually, as I was trying to say, we were talking about 'us'."

Will's eyebrows shot up, his insides churning with dread, though he knew he technically had no reason to worry.

The guys were feeling fine from what he could tell, so they weren't thinking about anything _bad_ , and weren't _displeased_ with anything, and they were just as usual towards him, so it wasn't as if they were going to _break up with him_ or anything…

…Right?

Will shifted anxiously.

No, that was stupid.

Of course they wouldn't.

The thought was laughable.

…Or so he hoped…?

But then again, what if…

No.

No, they wouldn't do that.

What was he even thinking?

…Maybe he was in the infirmary too much.

Maybe he wasn't affectionate enough with them.

Maybe they had realized he wasn't as great as they kept making him out to be.

Oh gods, what if they-…

"Will? Dude, it's nothing _bad_. Jason, do something, he's paling! What did I do? Are you okay? Do you need to lay down? Sleep? Cuddle? Are you cold? Are you warm? Want me to bring you something to drink? Did you eat? Gods, you ate, right? I wouldn't put it past you to bring us food and forget your own." Percy started rambling frantically, shifting and waving a hand in front of Will's face, making him frown and blink.

What…?

"Percy, give him some space, you're smothering him. Will, are you okay? Do you want us to take you back to the cabin? The infirmary?" Jason asked, and despite his words, he came shifting closer next to Percy, his hand touching Will's chin ever so gently to get him to look at him properly.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, he was an idiot.

 _Of course_ they weren't going to break up with him.

Where had those thoughts even come from, seriously?

They were so worried, though.

He didn't like them worried.

They had just felt _so_ nice, how had he ruined that this quickly?

"I…I'm fine. Sorry, I think I spaced out a little right there. I was just thinking about…erm…patients. There's _so_ many kids in the infirmary right now, it's not even funny. And there's this _one_ kid who keeps cutting themselves with the most random objects by accident. Like, seriously, you could give them a _tissue_ , and they'd probably still find a way to get a cut from it." He started rambling, inwardly wincing at even mentioning this, since he took his job in the infirmary very seriously, and did _not_ talk about his patients.

To anybody.

 _Ever_.

Blah.

At least he wasn't giving out names.

Percy and Jason exchanged a long, telling look he couldn't quite place, then they looked back at him and moved closer, sitting down to either side of him.

"Oh really? Sounds like you got quite some work on your hands there." Jason commented with an understanding look, his arm sneaking around Will from the left.

"Yeah, sounds like you could do well with a little…time-out…" Percy agreed, and Will could feel _his_ arm moving around him as well, as both of them got close enough to make their shoulders connect.

Will shot them both wary looks.

That had been a rather sudden mood-shift right there.

Were they…planning something?

Or were they just trying to be nice?

Then again, it was highly unusual that they just went along with his babbling immediately.

Though…his acting _was_ top-notch, so it wasn't as if they had any reason _not_ to believe him.

Plus, he hadn't lied.

He had simply…changed the topic.

That was it.

"I agree. You should just…lean on us for a while…" Jason continued, and Will was as confused as ever, though he allowed the guys to get _even closer_ , which seriously had to look _so_ weird to others right about now.

Two hands started stroking over his thighs, and lips pressed against his shoulders from both sides, as both of his boyfriends had turned their heads to shoot him soft smiles.

Will started relaxing slightly, pushing aside all thoughts of those two planning anything.

Who cared, anyways?

If they were, then he'd find out eventually, so there was no point in breaking his head over it.

Jason tugged him closer, and Percy started running his hand up and down Will's back, both their other hands still placed on his thighs, though they had stopped their stroking.

"Right…so, erm…what is it you wanted to tell me?" He tried tentatively, noticing he hadn't yet replied due to his thoughts being all over the place (again).

But both guys shook their heads, and Percy nudged him to drop against Jason a little bit more.

"First, relax. Take some deep breaths…make your exhales longer than your inhales…let us be there for you…" Percy instructed, his voice disturbingly calm and melodic, and Will found himself frowning slightly, wondering if Percy in fact _was_ part-siren.

What was he even doing?

Was he trying to hypnotize him or something?

If so, all he had to do was make Will look him in the eyes when there was a sunset, because Percy's eyes were absolutely _captivating_ in the light of the setting sun.

Percy clicked his tongue impatiently, and Will blinked, then resigned himself to his fate and did as he had been told.

He even closed his eyes.

(Though that was more to avoid Percy's chiding look.)

Shockingly enough, after the third exhale, he really _did_ feel himself relaxing further, though that might have also been because they kept stroking him gently.

"There we go. That's a lot better, right?" Percy pointed out, and Will nodded with a small sigh, not opening his eyes.

Yeah, okay, it did sort of feel nice.

He'd prefer not to be sitting on hard, uneven ground, and have a bit more sunlight, but he couldn't deny it did have a certain something to it to just sit down and relax and lean against his boyfriends.

"I guess so." He replied, still not very fond of admitting to things, but the guys knew that much already, so there was that.

"Good. And now…" Percy started, then fell silent, and, in a way, Will guessed that should have made his alarm bells ring.

It didn't.

He was completely defenseless when Percy's hands suddenly shot under his shirt and started tickling, and by the time he squeaked and tried to escape, he was already on his back in the dirt, a flailing mess beneath his _horrible_ boyfriend, while his other boyfriend sat by idly and watched.

Cruel!

Will was _never_ going to call them adorable again!

They were cruel, horrible beings!

"Percy! I want to _hate_ you, Percy! Stop this instant! I swear, if you don't…fuck you! Fuck you, fuck it all, _I hate you_! You vile creature! Horrible being! I'm going to make you eat fish for three weeks! Four weeks! _Until the day I die_! I swear, _Perseus_!" He ranted and cried and swore, but Percy merely cackled and continued.

Will was _so_ tempted to kick him in the face with his foot.

But he was still wearing shoes, and he didn't quite have the heart to be _that_ brutal.

That was, until Percy suddenly pushed his legs apart almost effortlessly, and Will flinched, uncertainty and mild panic appearing out of nowhere and making his words die in his throat.

But the next moment, Percy merely let himself drop on top of him, flattening him into the ground once and for all, and Will groaned loudly at the sudden weight.

"Get off me, you nerd. Seal. Big seal. What's that other big thing called? Walrus? That. Get off me. I don't want to see your face. Shoo with you. Horrible human being. Almost as bad as Jason. Scratch that, you're both horrible. Know what, I changed my mind about the walrus. You're a whale. A _killer_ whale, because you're killing _me_." He complained non-stop, while Percy chuckled (freaking asshole) and Jason merely sighed, but still made no move to interfere.

Will was so going to remember that.

"I love you, sun-bug." Percy said good-naturedly, as if that was something that would calm Will down and placate him enough to stop cursing him with anything he could think of.

Will found himself huffing indignantly, pointedly looking away and ignoring Percy's hands stroking through his (now undoubtedly _dirty_ ) hair.

It took him a moment to realize those words had indeed made him stop cursing.

Damn it.

"So, are you willing to tell us _now_ what's bothering you?" Percy asked, and Will stiffened.

Oh for the love of…

He had _known_ those two had been up to something.

Of course they hadn't dropped the matter.

Freaking horrible beings!

(He loved them.)

(They were still horrible, though.)

(Horribly kind, for example.)

"I don't…" He started, but then trailed off with a sigh.

Ugh.

Whatever.

"Yes?" Percy asked, his voice low and curious, his lips pressing against Will's crook of the neck, before he pulled back slightly to put his chin on Will's chest and gaze at him patiently.

 _Ugh_.

"This time, it really _was_ nothing, Percy. I was just thinking about something absolutely stupid for a moment, and that managed to distract me." Will replied bitterly, instantly adding a huff at the end to show how much he did _not_ appreciate this.

Seriously, those two worrywarts!

Hadn't they all agreed to let _Will_ do the thinking, and that they should just enjoy themselves for as long as life would let them?

…Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure they had never actually finished that argument.

Meh.

Percy made a small, disbelieving sound, his eyes still boring into Will as if he could see into his very soul.

Then he let out a long sigh that made Will's heart ache.

"Alright, if you insist. But…talk to us, okay? You're done with bottling everything up, right?"

Will hated the hint of uncertainty in his voice, the hesitation in his movements, and the concern coursing through his boyfriend.

If things were only that easy.

Will thought back to his nightmare, the vision, thought back to Percy's face, the expression of pure horror when he had realized what pit they had been dangling over.

No, he wasn't going to bring that up.

Ever.

If that was what was meant to happen, Will knew better than to meddle with it.

History books showed that the ones fighting their fates tended to end up worse in the end, and he wasn't going to risk it.

They'd be fine without him.

And he wouldn't let them think of their time together as limited, the way Will knew it was.

Nope.

Never.

"Of course I know, sweetheart. And…you know what?" Will started, licking over his lips and wondering faintly what he even thought he was doing, himself.

Percy, of course, instantly perked up, curiosity filling his gaze.

"What?"

Will motioned for him to come closer, though that really shouldn't have been an issue, given that Percy still had his chin on his chest.

But Percy immediately moved and brought his ear closer to Will's lips, tempting Will to bite him instead of talking, though he resisted.

Percy was genuinely concerned, Will wasn't going to play now.

"I'd _really_ be up for some cuddles right about now." He whispered in a low voice, slightly surprised by how _easy_ it was to admit to this now; and he could feel and see Percy's whole demeanor changing from worried to nearly overjoyed, his eyes sparkling as his expression changed to one of determination.

" _Got it._ "

The next moment, Will didn't even have time to bring up the whole 'Sadly, I'll have to get back to work in a few minutes'-part, because then he already found himself _picked up_ and _thrown over Percy's shoulder_.

Wait, _what_?

"Percy! Put me down!" Will exclaimed, but then Percy was already moving, and Jason's chuckling drowned out most of his words, though he knew Percy had to have heard.

"Nope. It's cuddle time."

Yep, he had heard, alright?

He simply didn't care.

Rude.

Will was gonna remember that, too.

"But _work_!" He wailed, his face burning as Percy moved past the other cabins at a quick, but not overly rushed pace, and he could feel as well as see everybody staring.

Oh gods, this was so embarrassing.

That's what Will got for opening his mouth in the first place.

Couldn't they have simply cuddled together somewhat where they had been?

"Kayla will understand. This is _clearly_ an emergency." Percy declared wisely, and Will felt the urge to headbutt him.

Kayla probably _would_ understand.

She'd understand _way_ too well.

She'd also tease him along with the rest of his siblings and interpret way too much into his absence.

Gods, no.

The last thing he needed was his siblings thinking even weirder things than they already were.

"Can you at least let me down? I can walk just fine!" He wailed instead of arguing, but Percy merely shot back a 'Nope', then ordered Jason to unlock the door for him.

Wait, they were here already?

Will spotted a bunch of Aphrodite girls a few feet away, all giggling and looking at him with looks that said they thought they knew what was happening right there.

He felt his face heating and buried it in his hands.

"You're the worst." He remarked, but Percy wasn't perturbed in the slightest, merely glancing over his shoulder and waving at them.

Idiot.

Next time, Will was going to throw _him_ over _his_ shoulder and see how Percy liked _that_!

…Percy would probably love that, to be honest.

Damn it.

Well, in that case, he'd tell _Jason_ to do it for him.

Percy would still love that, but he definitely wouldn't want to show it.

Just like Will, then.

Ha. Perfect revenge.

"Come on, Percy, let me-…" He started again as they entered the cabin, but he could have saved his breath, because the next moment, he _was_ let down.

As in, he was being _brutally dropped onto the bed_.

Will was about to complain about that as well, but then Percy already had his shoes kicked off and flopped down on top of him, apparently having no qualms about flattening him onto surfaces today.

He groaned at the sudden weight on him, smacking Percy's shoulder with his hand as lightly as he could.

" _Idiot_." He remarked, then groaned again, moving his arm over his eyes.

Percy, the ever so kind and loving person, merely cackled and gave him a gentle kiss to his jaw.

"You know you love it."

He did _not_.

"Percy, move it, you're suffocating him. Plus, share, will you? Why must you always be so possessive with _my_ Will, huh?" Jason chided, and Will huffed indignantly, especially when he felt his face heating.

" _Your_ Will? Forget it. He's mine. I saw him first." Percy argued instantly, but Jason wasn't impressed, instead shoving him off Will so they could both get closer to him from left and right.

Before Will could even say anything, he was getting attacked from both sides – with gentle touches and timid kisses to his clothed shoulder and his neck.

"You…what are you _doing_?" He asked flustered as he moved his arm to look at them, but they both just grinned back at him cheekily.

"Loving you?" They both replied in unison, and if Will's face hadn't already been flushed, it certainly would have been now.

Gods, these dorks.

Before he could think of a suitable complaint, though, they were already back to 'loving' him, which meant that Jason suddenly started showering his face in kisses, and Percy was beginning to move his hands under his shirt and stroke over his stomach and chest – not in a sexual way, but in a wonderfully _nice_ way, all the same.

"If…if you tickle me again, I'm going to smack you with my guitar." He stated weakly, but they both just breathed out small laughs and continued ravishing him in the most amazing way possible.

Seriously, how was he supposed to be upset with them if they were like _this_?

Then again, how could anybody be upset with anyone when such a thing like _cuddles_ existed?

It was beyond Will.

What was the point of war, when people could be home with their loved ones and be sappy and romantic and _happy_ with each other?

Will pondered that as he allowed a giddy grin to spread on his face, letting out a small, more or less complainant squeak as they started humming and putting more effort into their 'loving'.

There was noise coming from the door, and Will turned his head to watch Nico poking his head in, a smile appearing on his face when he spotted them.

"Hey there, amori miei." Nico greeted as he closed the door and came hurrying over, and Will wasn't surprised in the least that he couldn't even manage to open his mouth by the time Nico already had his shoes off and joined them.

Percy got his 'I missed you'-kiss first, but then it was Will's turn to feel Nico's lips against his own, and he hummed contently – especially when Nico climbed on top of him and let his hands join Jason's and Percy's.

Nothing better in the world than cuddles.

"So, how come you're here? I was about to finish up training when Clarisse came and told me she saw you two carrying Will off towards the cabins. If she hadn't insisted you were laughing and Will was a blushing mess, I'd have gotten worried, you know?" Nico informed them after giving Jason his kiss, too, and Will groaned at the realization that, if _Clarisse_ had seen he was blushing, so had the rest of the camp.

Great.

How embarrassing.

"Will was in desperate need for cuddles." Percy explained, and Will groaned even louder, now back to moving his arm over his face to avoid being seen, though he very well knew that wasn't going to help.

"Can't blame him. I know _I'm_ in desperate need for cuddles. And a shower." Nico muttered, and Will immediately rushed to wrap his arms around him to keep him from pulling away, just in case.

He had to stay here with him!

Those two were way too kind and affectionate with him, he'd combust with joy, and he could only really let it show when his Nico was here, too!

…Why was that, though?

Will wasn't sure.

"You can take your shower later. It's cuddle time now." Percy stated, and Will whole-heartedly agreed, though it was Jason who hummed and gave an affirming nod.

Nico merely chuckled, then shifted to lay down on top of Will properly, and Will allowed his legs to part to give him more space to get comfortable with.

If it was Nico, it was okay.

Will knew none of them would hurt him, that none of them would dare push him to anything, but he still had to admit that he was the most comfortable with Nico on top of him.

Maybe it was because he was shorter than him, maybe it was because he had crushed on him the longest, maybe it was neither, maybe it was both, he didn't know.

He just knew that, when it was Nico, it was much easier to close his eyes and relax and keep him close, without any stupid fears or thoughts entering his mind.

At least not as much.

Gods, he hated it so much, though.

He wished it would all just stop.

That he could just…let it all go, forget, and enjoy this like everybody else would.

He _knew_ they wouldn't do anything, for gods' sake!

Nico's lips found his nose, and his lips automatically twitched into a small smile, all thoughts forgotten as he opened his eyes to squint at his boyfriend.

He hummed in question, but Nico shook his head, his smile widening as he shifted again to rest his head against Will's chest.

Will closed his eyes again, moving his hands into Nico's hair to stroke through it, and this time, it was Nico humming contently.

This was so nice.

Especially since he could feel their joy and contentment, too.

Seriously, this was a bit like Elysium, wasn't it?

Or, at least, how he pictured their Elysium to be like.

Just the four of them, in some nice place (like Nico's cabin), spending their time _together_.

It had taken them so long to find together like this, and this was so, _so_ rare, this bond that they had.

Could anybody blame them for wanting this to last forever?

Will decided the answer was 'No'.

This was perfect.

The perfect moment.

The perfect Elysium.

His nightmare came back to mind, weighing heavy on his heart.

The only Elysium he'd ever get to experience.

Will moved his arms and pulled his boyfriends a little closer.

How he wished this moment would never end.

But it was true.

Souls couldn't escape Tartarus either, after all.

...

Will grumbled next to him as they entered the infirmary, but Nico wasn't fooled.

He very well knew Will had loved each and every second of that (unplanned, but highly appreciated) cuddling session earlier.

Nico had certainly loved it, too.

Seriously, the day had immediately felt a lot better (and a lot more bearable) once he had felt his guys so close, felt their beating hearts, the warmth of their bodies, their breath against his skin, their lips on his own.

As long as he got to have that, it was going to be okay.

Everything would be okay.

He could go through his day, could get through training, could face whatever it was that was coming, it would all be okay.

Nico just had to believe in it hard enough.

Will made a face when Kayla made straight for them, and Nico glanced around quickly to get an overview over how many patients there were today.

Well.

Either training levels had been raised, or Clarisse had gotten bored, because Nico could see at least ten kids waiting for treatment, and there were several medics buzzing about, rushing from one room to the next, though Nico couldn't tell who nor how many kids were in those.

"There you are, Will! I was wondering whether you'd show up again. I knew I shouldn't have let you go on lunch break quite so early. Hi Nico. Will, you said you'd be back in _at most_ thirty minutes. You were gone for _two hours_. What's your excuse? You're still head medic, you know? Not to mention head counsellor of the Apollo cabin. Seriously, I hope you got laid enough to make it worth the overtime you'll be working today." Kayla ranted before she even reached them, and Will immediately grumbled again and shot Nico a look that said 'I told you so!'.

Hey, it hadn't been Nico's idea to get Jason and Percy to abduct Will and keep him to themselves in their cabin.

Though he surely couldn't blame them.

In fact, he'd probably do the same thing, if he knew he'd get away with it.

Nico nodded at Kayla in greeting as she kept rambling on, while Will was quickly blushing a rather nice shade of red.

Yeah, Nico had expected as much.

Because, for some reason, while Will seemed okay with anybody and everybody else to believe they were having sex, he was a flustered mess when it came to _his siblings_ believing the same.

Nico merely smiled to himself, knowing that, a week or two ago, he'd have probably blushed and sputtered, too.

But he didn't.

Instead, his smile widened as Will started sputtering and stumbling over his words next to him, trying to explain that they had _not_ gotten laid, nothing of the kind, and that she should _not_ assume such a thing just because he had been missing.

"Whoa, Will? You're back already from your lovemaking?" Austin called over, and Nico hid his mouth behind his hand as he watched Will blushing furiously and hissing in the general direction of his half-brother, already trying once more to tell them they had _not_ had sex.

Wow, had Nico been like that before, too?

"Damn, I bet with Malcolm and Katie that you wouldn't show up again. Can't you leave for another round, before they see you?" Another girl exclaimed, her head popping out from the room closest to them.

"Will is back? I thought he was off to get laid!" Alec all but yelled through the entire place from where he was in the room in the back, and now Nico was definitely laughing, though he still tried to hide it a tiny bit, for Will's sake.

"I did _not_ get laid!" Will yelled back, his face beet-red and his hands fidgeting and moving up to hide said face when he caught Nico's gaze, but Nico was pretty sure everybody close enough had already seen.

Aww, wasn't he adorable?

Seriously, had Nico been this obvious in the past, too? When he had been a flustered mess?

Now he could kind of understand why the guys had enjoyed turning him into said flustered mess.

There was silence for a long moment, in which all of Will's siblings seemed to consider his words.

Then, there was an assortment of heavy sighs coming from various directions.

"Sucks."

"Well, you _should_ have."

"Your loss, bro."

"And then you come back? You should have stayed _until_ you had gotten laid, dude."

Weren't Will's siblings simply the best?

Nico certainly thought so.

He watched Will gape and stare off into space with a near incredulous expression, then Nico took mercy on his boyfriend.

"Guys, give him some peace, alright? He was very anxious about not returning on time, but we were having a bit of an emergency." He said loudly, and Will's look of utmost gratitude made it absolutely worth it that Nico now found himself being the center of attention.

(Which he hated to be, since it unnerved him to no end.)

Heads popped out from the various rooms again, questions and calls filling the room once more, while a few of the patients started chuckling under their breath.

(Except the two that were glowering at them and seeming impatient for their treatment, even though there still were enough medics buzzing about.)

"An emergency, huh?" Kayla muttered with a raised eyebrow, undoubtedly knowing everything was just fine between them.

Nico shrugged with a small smile, confirming her unspoken words, then he allowed Will to drag him off towards his small room so they could change into scrubs.

"I swear, I'll never hear the end of this. Seriously, this is all Percy's fault." His boyfriend grumbled, his face still flushed, and Nico gazed at him amused, knowing full well he wasn't actually upset.

"No making out in there, guys!" Alec yelled the moment they were about to close the door, and Will let out a frustrated sound, before slamming the door shut with a loud 'I do what I want!'.

Which…might not have been the best thing to say, since they promptly heard the ever so lovely chorus of ' _Ooh_!'-s sounding through the infirmary, making Nico's lips twitch all over again.

"Just ignore them, sole mio. They're just teasing because they're happy you are happy." He reasoned as he was now the one tugging Will away, leading him over to where their scrubs were.

There was a reason he was here, after all.

Next to the fact that he didn't feel like training anymore (bless Jason for taking over for him).

And the fact he _had_ wanted to get Will here in one piece and make sure he wasn't teased _too much_.

He really wanted to help Will out a bit.

Like, _really_.

Out of the four of them, Will was the one with the toughest schedule, yet he complained the least.

He complained about a lot, but never about his work in the infirmary, never anything past an exhausted 'Sorry, that took a bit longer than expected'.

Nico knew from experience how things could get in the infirmary, and even if there might not be any 'severe' injuries at the moment (which they were all more than glad for), it was still hard work, and more often than not tedious.

He used to help Will out a lot in the past, after all.

The past weeks – or months, rather – that had somehow…gotten lost.

Nico wanted to change that.

He was going to be there for Will.

Of course, he knew the four of them all wanted to be there for each other in any and every way possible, but this was…this was something different.

Nico used to do this with Will, and he just…wanted to have that again.

He hadn't told Will that, exactly, but he _had_ asked whether it would be okay to tag along and help out, and Will's expression had indicated he might already know his reasoning behind it.

"Hey Nico, have you seen my-…" Will asked distractedly just as Nico tugged his shirt off over his head, and he turned his head to look at him in question when he abruptly broke off.

"What?" He asked, confused, when he found Will staring at him – or rather, his…stomach…?

Will tore his gaze away and looked almost flustered for a moment, but then he seemed to catch himself again, a cheeky grin spreading on his face, instead.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just realized how hot my boyfriend looks shirtless. Are you sure you want to wear scrubs?"

Nico gazed back at him with a raised eyebrow and an unimpressed expression.

"Will, you see me shirtless every night." He replied, trying to ignore his rapidly beating heart.

Will was such a charmer, seriously.

The blonde shrugged, his grin still in place.

"Yeah, so? It's dark in the evening, Neeks. I don't get to see much! Now though…" He let his eyes move up and down Nico's body slowly, then shook his head with a wistful whistle.

This time, Nico _did_ blush.

A tiny bit.

Ugh, this guy.

"We have such a thing called lights, Will, you can see me just fine. Plus, are you sure your siblings would be very thrilled about me walking around in the _infirmary_ without my shirt on, just for your pleasure?" He replied as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, absolutely _not_ feeling self-conscious or anything, nope.

…Okay, maybe a tiny little bit.

Will was still shaking his head with that wistful look on his face, his gaze back on Nico's stomach, and Nico took that as a sign he absolutely hadn't been listening.

"You're like a horny teenager. Come on, get your head out of the gutter, sunshine." Nico chided, then pulled the thin black shirt over his head that he had stored here back when he used to help Will out more often.

There was no way he was going to wear scrubs over his thicker, _warm_ shirt; not when he would be moving around so much, but he also wasn't going to _just_ wear scrubs.

Will made a disappointed sound, but slipped back into his own scrubs and came over no moment later, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before ushering him out of the room.

As if it had been Nico that had gotten distracted.

"Aww, seems like you two didn't make out." Alec mumbled dejectedly when he spotted them first, and Will huffed loudly.

"Well, you'd be surprised, but we're actually dating for more than just sex, my dearest brother."

True that.

"Though the sex is an added plus." Nico added quietly enough so only Will could hear, and laughed quietly when Will's head shot around, his expression wild and absolutely _stunned_.

Then a dirty grin appeared on his face, and he wiggled his eyebrows at Nico in a rather exaggerated, but still ever so adorable way.

"Oh, you think so? Wait until _I_ -…"

"Think hard before you finish that sentence, Will. We _still_ possess perfect hearing, you know?" Kayla called from one of the rooms, and Will made a face, while Nico wondered faintly whether that meant they had heard what _he_ had just said, too.

…Oops…

"Hm? What did she say?" Alec asked, looking confused, and Will snorted.

"She said you should stop acting as if you're actually writing a real report, and get working. I agree. There's some minor injuries you can treat, and I think I just heard Austin cursing about a lack of supplies. Nico, want to go with him for a bit while I catch up with Kayla?"

Ah, Will was getting back into doctor-mode.

Nico nodded, then moved past him to follow Alec, who ever so reluctantly put down the clipboard and seemed to sulk, before waving him along with a grin to get started.

They moved through the rooms, and Nico greeted one familiar face after another, while he and Alec got an overview of what supplies were needed, then went to fetch them.

The Apollo kids always smiled so much.

It had always struck Nico as odd, and a bit of a stereotype, but they didn't seem to have any problem with that whatsoever.

Nico kind of liked it.

Their smiles were nothing compared to _Will's_ smile, of course, but he liked how cheerful and vibrant they all were, given that they were all busy working and taking care of more or less grumpy patients.

Alec and he mostly worked in silence, stocking up the rooms and getting an overview of the patients that still needed treatment, before Nico helped him setting a splint and patch up a bloody lip and nose.

Then, they went back into the tiny supply room and Alec decided it would be a great idea to cut some more bandages and ready some more other supplies for quick access.

Nico had the impression he just wanted to get away from all the people for a while, though he didn't ask.

Instead, he kept him company and helped, occasionally hearing Will's voice through the ajar door, all authoritative and steady and composed.

Will was such a doctor.

Nico could so see him with his own doctor's office one day, seriously.

Maybe something with kids, too.

Will would be great with kids.

Will already was.

Nico daydreamed about that for a while, about living in New Rome with his _boyfriends_ , about finding jobs, living life, doing all those adult things they'd have to do sooner or later, like earning money and buying groceries and looking for a house together or whatever else.

Then, he thought of the Camps, of this Camp, of their duties and responsibilities, of the irony that all four of them were head counsellors of their cabins, yet none of them really gave a damn about Camp activities or the like.

For some reason, that thought gave him pause, and he glanced sideways at Alec, who was still cutting bandages with his tongue sticking out a tiny bit.

True…

Will was the only one of the four who really had siblings at Camp, who had a cabin he actually _should_ take care of, who had responsibilities that far exceeded theirs.

As the head counsellor, and the head of the infirmary, he definitely had a lot more work to struggle with than any of them, yet he never complained about it.

Then again, he also kept insisting he had never asked for the positions, either.

What did his siblings think, though?

They never really visited the Apollo cabin, after all, nor did they do sleep-overs or anything like that.

They didn't even sit with the Apollo kids at breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Guilt started gnawing at Nico, and he only noticed he had completely stopped with the bandage-cutting when Alec looked at him in question, and he hurriedly looked down at his hands.

The silence stretched on, and somehow, Nico was beginning to feel uncomfortable, even though he usually much preferred silence.

He cleared his throat to battle it momentarily, but all that did was make Alec look up again, probably expecting him to speak.

"I'm…erm…I'm sorry." Nico said lamely, focusing back on cutting his bandages the way Will had shown him ages ago.

"Sorry for what?" Alec asked with a light frown as he also kept on working, and Nico shrugged.

"For…well, for keeping Will to ourselves, I guess. I can only imagine how much it must suck when one's head counsellor is never around and rather spends his nights somewhere else. It just…I don't know, I just feel as if we…sort of took him from you. In a way. And I'm sorry about that." He tried to explain without looking up, and saw Alec putting the scissors down out of the corners of his eyes.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then Alec snorted out a laugh that sounded _a lot_ like Will's when he couldn't decide between amusement or incredulity.

"Dude, it's fine! I mean, I appreciate the gesture, and it sure ain't easy, but…you know…" Alec exclaimed, gesticulating wildly, then he suddenly stopped with a big sigh, rubbing the side of his neck the way Will still sometimes did.

Then he sighed again, and Nico put down his scissors, looking at him properly.

"We're happy for him, Nico. We're happy for all four of you, really. Sure, sometimes it sucks, and Kayla and Austin are taking turns in acting like the leaders, but it kind of works, so it's all good. We much prefer this to…well…" Alec started, then trailed off again, pursing his lips and staring off into space for a moment.

Nico tilted his head slightly, and Alec sighed again, seemingly trying to collect his thoughts.

"You see, Will used to be…a lot different. You know him for a while now, you probably know a lot of his smiles are fake, and he gets louder and more obnoxious the more distressed he is. But you haven't…there used to be a time, when…how do I best explain this…" Alec tried once more, then trailed off once more.

Then he groaned, rubbing at his face.

"Nico…he used to be…a lot less cheerful, okay? Like, after the battle in Manhattan, after we finally had to admit that Michael hadn't made it, we knew we had to make somebody else head counsellor, and Will was simply the next in line, not to mention Michael's favorite. Not that he ever said that, or that he was even allowed to pick favorites, but seriously, those two were close, okay? Plus, Will was the best medic, it just made sense. He didn't complain or anything, either. He just did it. Back then, he just _did_ things, Nico. He'd stay in the infirmary and work, work, work, smile at his patients and offer encouraging words, then he'd make sure we all ate and drank and he even put us to bed. He did all that with that smile on his face that was…sort of like a mask, you know? Of course you know. But, the point is, we all knew he was hurting just like we were. We had all lost friends in that battle, friends and family, and we were all coping in our own ways, comforting each other and struggling with whatever life was throwing at us. Will was no different. The thing is just…for us, it got better. For Will…it didn't. Not really. He just…kept on smiling. Kept on laughing. He kept cheering everybody else up and acting the part of a cheerful kid that had never seen any of the horrors we had all faced, up to the point where even we forgot he might still be hurting." Alec explained, and Nico watched him struggling for words, giving a small nod to show he was listening and understood.

"Maybe he even forgot he was hurting, himself. I don't know. But we just…it became _normal_. He'd be there, he'd take care of everybody, day in, day out. Then the second war came, and he was still there, and took care of us, and his smile was something that was simply always there, we kind of just…took it for granted. I don't even remember whether I ever asked him whether he was okay during that time, whether I ever offered to listen in case he had to get anything off his chest, the way he did with us. I mean, he was simply _there_. Always. For us, for other campers, for everybody but himself, really. And none of us even questioned it in any way anymore at some point…until you showed up at Camp again."

Nico blinked, then frowned, looking back at Alec in confusion.

What…did he have to do with this…?

Alec's lips twitched, and he licked over them nervously as he shook his head and drew a deep breath.

"When you showed up again, Will seemed so…different. He was fidgeting, he was nervous, that mask he had kept on for so long seemed to practically crumble right off his face just because of your mere presence. Then you agreed to those three days in the infirmary, and he _beamed_ , Nico. He was smiling, and it looked so _different_ from the smiles we had seen all that time, from the smiles we had been used to at that point. But that's what made us realize just how _fake_ all of that had been. Do you know what I mean? It's like…he just suddenly seemed so genuinely _happy_ , it made us realize with a jolt that…well, that he hadn't been, before…" Alec muttered, trailing off again as he lowered his gaze, playing around with some of the bandages absent-mindedly.

"So, when you started spending more time with him, and he seemed to actually _glow_ and radiate that genuine happiness…we didn't want it to stop. Ever. You wouldn't believe it now, Nico, but we had more than just one crisis meeting in the Apollo cabin after we heard about that 'secret admirer' of yours, and realized that our Will might be losing to some weirdo with no sense of privacy."

Nico snorted and bit his lip trying to stop himself from laughing, wondering whether he should tell Percy that.

Alec shot him a small grin.

"Yeah, you're laughing now, but that was a serious matter. We didn't want our Will upset anymore, after all. We wanted him happy, and we wanted him to actually think of himself, not us. He had been there for us for so very long already, and we hadn't given him _anything_ in return. Now, imagine how relieved we were when you guys came back after New Year's and still kept on hanging out with Will and made him happy? Though, trust me, you wouldn't have wanted to see what we had planned if that _hadn't_ been the case, I'm just saying." Alec pointed out, and Nico raised an eyebrow, wondering just _what_ the Apollo cabin would have come up with.

Though he was more than glad they hadn't had to find out.

Alec let out another long sigh, though it seemed a lot more relaxed, and he was smiling at Nico when he spoke again.

"My point is…we really _are_ happy for him. For you guys. That everything worked out the way it did. And we really, _really_ want to see him happy, you know? No matter if it means he won't be the best head counsellor or head medic anymore. After all this time, and after now knowing the whole thing with…with… _that_ person…we just…" Alec broke off, looking as if he had just swallowed something very bitter, and Nico couldn't blame him one bit.

"We just want him happy. Yeah. So, we really don't care that you took him from us. As I said, it might suck sometimes, but…anything is better than how things used to be, and I sure as hell don't ever want him smiling a fake smile again. Yeah." Alec finished, clearing his throat a couple of times as he spoke, and Nico looked down at the bandages for a long moment in silence.

Then he smiled.

"Okay. Thanks. For telling me all that. And…well, I…I'll do my best. Making him happy, I mean."

Alec grinned at him, and the two just stood there for a moment in silence.

"Though I suppose you four _could_ always do a sleep-over at our cabin." Alec then mused, and Nico's eyebrows shot up.

"I doubt you'll like that very much."

"Why, do you guys snore?"

"Nah, but we sleep naked."

Nico wasn't sure why he had said that.

Maybe it was because it had been the first thing to cross his mind.

Maybe it was because of the lingering shock that they _did_ sleep naked, and he merely wanted somebody else to share that shock for once.

Alec, apparently, was the _perfect_ person for that.

Because he promptly dropped the scissors and sputtered something indistinguishable, looking at Nico as if he had grown a second head.

Then he started laughing as he shook his head, burying his face in his hands.

"Oh gods, too much info. I love it. Sorry, but I'm gonna tell Kayla that. And Austin. No, better, I'm gonna _bet_ with them. You better back me up when they come and ask for confirmation, di Angelo."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Nico retorted, definitely not intending to do any such thing, but Alec only laughed louder.

"You're really something, dude. I like you. Good brother-in-law."

Nico was about to reply with a 'Thanks', but then blushed when he realized what Alec was trying to hint at with the last part.

"That's…isn't it a bit _early_ to say such stuff?!" He exclaimed with a quickly heating face, and Alec of course instantly noticed, his laugh turning into a loud cackle as he repeatedly nudged Nico's shoulder with a wiggle of his eyebrows, while Nico tried to hide his face.

 _So much for keeping his composure for just_ one _day_!

"Hey, what are you two up to in here, we can hear you throughout the-…Alec, what exactly do you think you're doing to my boyfriend?" Will exclaimed as he poked his head in, right when Nico tried to escape and Alec pulled him back and put him into a headlock to ruffle through his hair (how _dare_ he?!), exclaiming loudly how _not-scary_ he actually was (scandalous) and how he was looking forward to their wedding (what even?!).

(Nico could so see how he and Will were related, given that they were both idiots and not scared of _the Ghost King_ in any way, whatsoever.)

The _audacity_.

Nico wailed loudly until his boyfriend came to his rescue, pulling him away and glowering daggers at Alec while ranting about being 'the only one permitted to turn Nico into a flustered mess'.

(Never.)

Then, Nico grinned and stuck his tongue out at Alec over Will's shoulder, and Alec huffed indignantly, before he started laughing all over again.

Yeah, he liked Will's siblings.

Will gave him a kiss on the cheek, and Nico's grin widened.

As much as he liked Will's siblings though, Will would always be his _favorite_ sunshine.

 _His_.

...

Jason smiled to himself, stroking up and down Will's back with one hand as his blonde sat curled up in his lap, his head resting against Jason's shoulders.

"I can't _believe_ they took _my_ boyfriend from me, Jason. There I leave him with Alec for, like, _five minutes_ , and suddenly, they're besties, and next thing I know, my whole cabin turns against me and drags him off and _keeps him to themselves_! _Can you believe it_?!" Will kept rambling quietly, and Jason's lips twitched.

"I do. You've already told me six times, love. Also, I walked in to your siblings planning our wedding and urging Nico to agree with them, so-…"

" _Yes_! I know! That was horrible, too! They are set on embarrassing me, Jason, I'm telling you! And there I thought they loved me!" Will wailed, and Jason shook his head with a small smile.

Always so dramatic.

"They do. Same as I love you. Just that I love you _even more_." Jason stated, and watched pleased how Will immediately stopped his rant, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times, before he huffed and let himself fall back against Jason more, again.

"Fair enough. I love you, too, Handsome. Think our other two troublemakers will be back soon?" He asked, and they both glanced towards the door.

"For sure. They're only fetching dinner." He replied reassuringly, knowing it was still difficult for Will to let them out once they were all together in the cabin and it was getting late.

It had been Nico's idea to keep to themselves tonight.

None of them had complained.

He moved his hand back to Will's back to resume his stroking, and his other hand sneaked its way back to Will's thigh, taking pride in the fact Will was comfortable enough with him to be in this position without complaint.

After the past days, and the way Will had almost seemed to be avoiding him, Jason couldn't deny he had gotten a bit worried.

He already had a hunch just _why_ Will might actually have kept away a bit, but he really didn't want to pressure him into talking about it.

Jason knew how he was with Percy, knew how it had to look like to Will, knew what it had to remind him of.

He knew all that, and he hated it, but he also couldn't help it.

He had _tried_ to be gentler with Percy, to be the way he was with Nico when they were making out, the way he was with Will whenever they started to make out.

But somehow, he had always ended up getting carried away.

Percy's pleading and mewling hadn't helped with his resolve one bit, either, of course, but Jason knew better than to blame him.

He wasn't sure what to think, though.

When he had started worrying too much, dreading Will might actually be _scared_ of him, he had tried to tentatively come closer, which had ended with the two of them making out in the shower, and Will had seemed just fine then.

Which was great, of course, but it didn't really help Jason.

"What are you thinking about, Handsome?" Will asked quietly, opening his eyes to gaze at Jason, though his cheek was still pressed against Jason's shoulder.

He shrugged slightly.

"Nothing much. Just…things, I guess. Oh yeah, we never got around to tell you, because of the whole cuddles-thing, but Percy and I actually wanted to apologize. For the past days. We were a bit…uncontrolled." He mumbled, and half expected Will to tense at the mention of Percy's and his lovemaking, but instead, Will chuckled in response.

" _Uncontrolled_? Really? _That's_ what you're gonna call it? Well, suit yourselves. Wait, does this mean you're done now? Finished all your experimenting and lusting after each other at each and every turn?"

Wow, thanks Will.

That made Jason feel _so_ much better about everything, indeed.

"We didn't mean to neglect you and Nico. It just…I don't know. It's all very…new." He tried and failed to explain himself, but Will shook his head and lifted his finger to Jason's lips to shush him.

"Jason, it's okay. You didn't neglect us. Hell, Nico _loved_ it. He probably won't admit to it yet, but he loves seeing Percy completely falling apart beneath you, Handsome. He also absolutely loved it when you decided to tug him into the middle and ravished him from both sides. Though I'm still surprised you let Percy top him then."

Jason's lips twitched, and he automatically kissed Will's finger that still rested against them.

Will sure knew how to change the topic, huh?

Unfortunately for him, Jason immediately picked up on one tiny fact.

Will hadn't said with one word that _he_ had been okay with any of this.

It stung.

Jason didn't want it to, but it still did.

Will fell quiet almost immediately.

He always knew.

It was kind of sad.

Though it was also great, because it allowed the four of them to always know whenever there was something wrong, and they could act immediately, rather than hours or days or weeks later.

Unless it had to do with Will and how he was feeling, of course, because Will still liked to act unbothered.

Like right now.

Silence settled over them, and Jason wondered whether Will knew what was bothering him.

Then he wondered whether he just wasn't saying anything yet because there was nothing he could say to fix anything.

That thought stung even more.

Was it…wrong?

What Jason and Percy were doing?

He knew Percy liked it, of course.

Jason had done his best to make sure he had enjoyed each and every time they had had sex, and, if anything, Percy had tried to spur him on to _more_ each and every time, too.

He also knew that there were other couples out there that simply had rougher sex, and that was without even considering the whole BDSM aspect that some were into.

But Jason didn't consider himself a part of that.

He didn't really want to _tie Percy up_ or anything, after all.

Or…maybe he did?

It was confusing.

He didn't want to tie Nico or Will up, that much was for certain.

Why always only Percy, anyways?

One would expect Jason to be the same way with all three of them, or at least _similar_.

Instead, it seemed worlds apart.

He wanted to treasure Nico, wanted to worship Will, and wanted to take Percy apart.

How weird was that?

Jason had always thought he knew who he was and what he wanted, but…this…?

The worst was that, every time he and Percy had been all over each other the past days (and what glorious days they had been…), he had felt so _certain_ that it was right, that it was okay, that it was good, great, amazing, _perfect_.

But then, he had found himself gazing at Will, and the guilt had come right back.

"Will?" His voice was quiet, though Will heard him just fine, and Jason could feel his gaze from the side.

"Yes?" Will's voice was quiet, too, his gaze boring into Jason as if he was trying to see his very soul.

Jason stared off into space for a long moment, trying to gather enough courage to ask what he had kept asking himself the past days – a question he wasn't sure he could take the answer to.

"Am I like Kyle?"

Will flinched ever so slightly, though he didn't move or get away from Jason, which had to be a plus.

Jason still found himself dreading the answer, anyways.

"No. No, you're not." Will then replied, his voice still quiet, but also dead serious.

Jason didn't relax.

"But I…with Percy…" He started, the guilt coming back, and he cursed himself for bringing this up, after all.

He had _told_ himself he wouldn't pressure Will into talking about this, yet what was he doing now?

This was _exactly_ what he had sworn he _wouldn't_ do!

"Don't. Jason, don't. That's different. Baby, that's _worlds_ apart." Will insisted, and now, he did shift on Jason's lap, making him dread he was going to leave him.

But Will didn't.

Instead, he turned and moved his legs until he was straddling Jason, his hands moving up to cup his face, his expression upset and searching.

Jason couldn't find any words to explain, so he merely gazed into those bright blue, worried eyes, the words stuck in his throat.

Will shook his head softly, his thumbs stroking over Jason's cheeks.

"It's different, Jason. You and Percy, you _both_ enjoy what you're doing, right? It's consensual. You both agree to it, and you both enjoy it, and neither of you push the other to anything they don't want. That's the way it should be, love. You could never…you're nothing like _him_. Don't you think that. Ever. Not for one small moment. What you and Percy have, that's something special, something beautiful, and something _good_. Don't let _him_ soil that for you, love." Will insisted, his words so beautiful, his touches so gentle, but Jason could only shake his head, his throat suddenly feeling thick.

"Shh, it's okay. Jason, you're okay. Okay? Did Percy give you the impression he didn't like anything you did? I don't think so. Come on, you enjoyed yourself. I know you loved it. What's with the doubts now? Did something happen? Did somebody say anything? Do I have to beat anybody up?"

Jason shook his head again.

Any other time, Will's words might have made him smile, especially since he knew Will _would_ do all in his power to protect them.

Nico had told them about the 'duel' against Dilan, after all, and how Will hadn't actually been able to wield Nico's sword for very long, much less cause any damage, but how he had still managed to scare the shit out of Dilan, as well as everybody else present.

It wasn't every day that Will Solace, healer and all, decided to actually engage in anything even remotely _violent_.

…Much like how one wouldn't expect Jason to push Percy around and dominate him and getting off on it repeatedly.

He swallowed and tried to avert his gaze, but Will didn't let him.

"I know you were avoiding us, Will…" He muttered, though he instantly regretted it when he felt Will stiffening to a board.

His hands left Jason's face, and when Jason finally made himself look back at his boyfriend, he found _him_ with his eyes downcast and a guilty expression on his face.

"That…that's not…" Will started, looking and sounding conflicted, and Jason didn't want to hear it.

"You don't have to lie, Will. It's okay. I know-…"

"You don't know anything, Jason. It's _not_ like that! I _know_ you, Jason. And I know Percy. And I know what you two do. I know it, and I am happy for you. Don't you _ever_ doubt that. It's not that I have anything against what you two are doing."

Jason would love to believe that.

"Seriously, it's not. One day, I'd love to stick around. I'm not upset about it, Jason. And I'm not blaming you for anything. I sure as hell am not scared of you, just in case you ever stumble over that thought. I…I know it's consensual, okay? And I know you're not hurting him, and I know you two are still just trying to figure things out between you. But that's great. It's cool. Keep doing that for as long and much as you like, I'm all for it. I just…" Will trailed off in his rant, and Jason watched his expression with a guarded one of his own, trying to detect the lie, trying to see through anything Will might not be saying.

But Will seemed genuine.

Will's shoulders fell, his eyes on his hands in Jason's lap.

"I…I really don't mind, okay? It's just…I can't. I can't be around. At least not for now. I…pain…pain of any sort is just…I don't know how to deal with that yet, Jason. I know you're not _hurting_ him, but the way it looks…it _does_ remind me of…things. But that has nothing to do with you. And you should never feel bad for that, Jason. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about this before. I kind of…I had sort of hoped you wouldn't notice, I guess. It's…it's still difficult to…to talk…about these sort of things…"

Jason knew.

That was the thing.

He _knew_ , and this was _exactly_ why he hadn't wanted to mention this, why he hadn't wanted to push Will past his comfort zone, why he hadn't wanted to make Will look so torn and guilty and uncomfortable, with his body hunched and his hands fidgeting.

Jason wasn't sure how to fix it, though.

He wanted to apologize, but that wouldn't help, and only make Will apologize for making him apologize, and then it would be a never-ending, pointless circle of apologies that didn't help either of them in any sort of way.

"It's okay, Will. I'm not blaming you or calling you out or anything. I-…we just don't want to make you uncomfortable or scared…" He started, but couldn't get any further, because Will suddenly cupped his face and crashed their lips together.

Jason blinked, automatically returning the kiss tentatively as his hands shot up to clasp Will's wrists, still trying to make sense of what was happening.

"I'm _not_ scared." Will breathed against his lips, utter conviction in his voice, then he kissed him again, and Jason found himself relaxing slightly.

He half expected the kiss to be slow, gentle, something to make him shut up and let Will speak again.

But Will seemed intent on speaking through his kiss, because he made no move to stop, and the kiss was demanding, harsh and nearly forceful, a senseless mashing of their lips, with both of them pushing against each other much more than necessary.

Will had his arms wrapped around Jason's neck now, even though he had no memory of him moving, but his own hands were at Will's side without his knowledge, too, holding onto him and pulling him closer, fingers digging into the soft skin hiding under that shirt.

"Not of you. Never of you." Will continued breathlessly, and Jason shivered.

"You sure?" He asked, though the question sounded silly, even inside his head.

Pictures and memories zigzagged through his mind, of Kyle, of Will's panic attacks, of his need for permission, of the way he had left as soon as Jason and Percy had started getting carried away, of the way Will had looked at him.

Will bit down on his bottom lip.

" _Yes_. Now touch me, you giant bundle of unnecessary worries. Seriously, you practically consist of gentleness and affection, and you think I'm gonna be scared of you? _Please._ " Will ranted with a raspy voice, and Jason couldn't help but smile slightly, the tension finally leaving his shoulders completely.

Will was rambling.

But it was that sort of rambling that he did when he didn't like admitting to things, not the sort of rambling he did when he was trying to cover up anything.

Jason wasn't sure how he knew the difference, but he was going to trust his gut feeling for now, anyways.

"You want me to touch you?" He asked, his voice only the tiniest bit teasing, but Will promptly shot him a dark glare, before very pointedly averting his face.

"Is that the only thing you just heard? Well, _now_ you missed your chance, that's for sure."

Jason's grin widened, and he pulled Will closer the moment he tried to pull away to sulk.

"Aww, don't be like that, Freckles. You know I _love_ to touch you. You feel _so_ nice and soft." He cooed, and Will tried to act utterly unimpressed, though with his face averted, Jason had a perfect view of his quickly reddening ear.

"Soft, huh? Sounds like I'll have to work out a bit more." He rambled, and Jason nuzzled his face against his boyfriend's neck.

"Nah, you're perfect the way you are. All soft and warm and loving. A bundle of love. So kind, so caring, so wonderful." Jason whispered appraisingly, placing gentle pecks on Will's neck as he watched Will's ear turning a darker shade of red.

"Shush, you're just trying to seduce me."

Lies.

Well, maybe a tiny little bit.

Jason grinned against Will's skin for a moment, then placed another peck to it, before pulling back to look near scandalized.

"What? Me? Would I ever? Come on, I just want to show you how much I love you, Freckles. May I love you?" He asked hopefully, and Will automatically turned to look at him, blinking in confusion for a moment, before his face flushed a bit more, and his freckles started glowing.

"I…you…how would you even…ugh, do what you want." He then exclaimed, and Jason's grin was back full-force.

He had the most adorably boyfriend, okay?

"Okay. Careful, here I come." He warned, and Will immediately looked ready to fight again, but his 'I don't need a freaking warning, you sap!' was lost in the squeak that followed as Jason grabbed hold of him properly and threw them both sideways into the sheets.

"Jason!" Will exclaimed, but that was also lost, this time in a small wail as Jason started attacking his boyfriend with tons of kisses.

"Lemme love you!" He insisted when Will tried to escape and Will's wailing grew louder, though the grin on his face was ill-concealed, and the way he moved to slide beneath Jason rather than trying to roll away spoke volumes.

Jason inwardly gloated at getting Will to feel comfortable enough to let him climb on top of him, even if it was just to shower him in kisses.

That was more than enough, and much more than Jason could have ever hoped for.

"You two seem to be enjoying yourselves." Percy stated dryly behind them, and Jason grinned as he heard the door close and Nico chuckle quietly.

There they were.

"Percy! Percy, save me! Jason is being horrible again! There I wanted to shower him in affection, and he tricked me into _this_!" Will lamented loudly, but Jason shushed him by sealing their lips, and Will didn't even complain.

"That's Jason for you. You try to love him, and he gets carried away loving you. Though, hey, want us to help you out? I don't think we ever actually drowned Jason in our love." Percy mused, and Jason pulled away, turning his head around to shoot his boyfriend a bewildered look.

What?

"Yes!" Will exclaimed loudly, and Jason made the mistake of glancing back at him.

The next moment, Percy practically flung himself into the bed, closely followed by Nico, and Jason didn't even have the time to complain and make sure not to squish Will, because Will got flattened into the mattress a moment later right along with him, anyways.

He groaned, Will snorted, Nico chuckled, and Percy pushed them all around without any qualms, until all four of them were curled up in bed, and Jason was successfully squished in the middle of it all.

"Guys…guys, I already feel _very_ loved! You don't need to-…" He started, but it was all futile, because they smothered him in love and affection no moment later, anyways, their kisses sweet and their touches gentle.

"Take our love, Jason." Will insisted, grinning at him smugly when their gazes met, and Jason guessed this was what he got for always trying to get them to accept his love.

His lips split into a soft smile.

Well, he could live with that, then.

He could live with that just fine.


	8. Chapter 8: Safewords

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes :D

Here comes the next chapter~  
(Which is basically about a bad day ;I)

Also, not to be a downer or anything, but to anybody who thinks this story has waaay too much fluff in it or the like:  
Remember this is all the fluff they're ever gonna get before all hell breaks loose in the sequel ^-^

Wish you all the best, and thanks for reading~  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 08: Safewords**

When Will woke up a couple of days later, it was the middle of the night, he was panting and covered in sweat, and everything was hot, too hot, and he felt arms around him, bodies pressing against his own, and everything was _too much_.

He panicked, gasped, pushed away from the heat and the sensations and _everything_ as he sat up, his vision still blurry from sleep and the tears streaming down his face, though he wasn't quite sure why he was crying.

A small sob escaped his lips and he clasped his hands over his mouth, trying to calm himself, trying to remain quiet, trying to _not_ draw attention to himself.

His mind still spinning, he escaped the bed, making straight for the front door, but then he stumbled over something on the floor and crashed into the ground instead.

 _So loud_!

The panic and dread still swirling through him, he curled into a ball, expecting _him_ to wake up, expecting _him_ to come after him, expecting to be _found_ , expecting to be _dragged right back_.

Then, he realized with a jolt how _stupid_ he was.

Still curled together, Will opened his eyes, staring at the barely illuminated interior of Nico's – of _their_ cabin – and the realization of where he was and of who had been pressing against him both made him sag together in relief, as well as his face burn with shame, his body still shaking, and his mind still reeling.

He was safe.

He was with his _boyfriends_.

Gods, he was so _stupid_! What was his _problem_?!

Kyle had never even kept him in any cabin overnight, what had he been thinking?

…He hadn't been thinking.

He had just panicked and acted.

Gods, he had to get back to bed.

Will tried to move, but found himself unable to, his limbs still shaking and quickly stiffening, unwilling to respond.

Shock?

What was there to be shocked about?

This was just so _pathetic_.

Will let out a small whimper, then bit his lip to stop himself from making any other sound.

If the guys woke up now…

He couldn't let them see him like this.

They'd misunderstand.

They'd think it was their fault.

It wasn't their fault.

It could never be their fault.

Will was _fine_ , damn it!

…He was _supposed_ to be fine, at least.

Why wasn't he?

Why was this still happening?

What was this, even?

Had he dreamed something bad?

Had _he_ been trying to get into his mind, again?

No, he doubted it.

He'd remember, right?

He'd remember…

But he couldn't remember.

He had already had his nightmare of the night, though.

What was this, then?

 _Another_ one?

Please not.

Will inwardly cursed again, then tried to push himself up somewhat, though his body was still shaking, and his fists didn't want to unclench.

He had to get off the floor, though.

Maybe he could get to the bathroom, if he already wasn't able of getting back into bed.

If he could drag himself to the bathroom, he could close the door and stay there until this was over, until he was better, and then he could get back to his guys without them ever knowing.

It didn't work.

Nothing ever worked.

He tried to move towards the bathroom, only to freeze when he thought he could see the shadows moving, as if there was something – or some _one_ – lurking inside them, and the memory of Kyle dissolving into _whatever that darkness had been_ came crashing back over him, only fueling the senseless fear inside him.

He heard the water fountain somewhere to his right, and he blamed it on his internalized chant of 'Water means safety' that he immediately started moving towards that, more crawling than anything else, and still hoping against hope that none of his guys would wake.

This was pathetic.

Nothing but pathetic.

Will now cried tears of shame, curling up next to the water fountain as he tried and failed to watch the shadows, his vision too blurry, and the darkness too dark.

Pathetic, pathetic, _pathetic_!

Will buried his face at his knees, sobbing quietly and cursing everything there was to curse.

Why?  
Why was he like this?  
Why were things this way?

Why couldn't he be _normal_?

They were even _dressed_ , for gods' sake!

Dressed!

They weren't even naked!

The one night they didn't make it for their naked cuddles, and Will had nothing better to do than…than…than to _freak out_!

 _Why_?!

"Will?"

… _Why_ …

Will sobbed quietly, trying to will his guys asleep, trying to will himself to be okay, trying to will the world to bend to his wishes just _one fucking time_.

He heard rustling, then footsteps.

Of course, no such luck.

"Will…" Percy's voice was quiet, gentle, soft.

Will still felt as if he had just yelled at him at the top of his lungs.

He felt Percy's hand reaching out without looking and without Percy even touching him yet, but he immediately recoiled, curling into himself further and trying to deny what was happening.

Nothing was happening.

He was still sleeping.

Everything was fine.

He'd wake up and his guys would be there and they'd have a wonderful, perfect morning, full of kisses and cuddles and love.

A perfect start into the day.

Not this mess.

Not this nonsense.

Not this pathetic display of 'Please pity me, because I happen to not be center of attention often enough yet'.

Will choked back a sob, and wondered whether there was a limit of how much one could hate themselves on a whim.

"Shh, it's okay. What happened? Nightmare? Or did we…" Percy tried carefully, but Will only shook his head.

He didn't want to talk.

What was there to say, anyways?

It wasn't the guys.  
It wasn't a nightmare.  
It was just him being stupid.

Percy didn't start speaking again, and didn't attempt to touch him.

In fact, for a moment, Will even thought he had gone back to bed, or had gone _away_ , at any rate.

But when he urged his eyes open, there his boyfriend was, crouching in front of him with a sad, concerned look on his face.

For a moment, Will wanted to snap at him, wanted to snarl, wanted to tell him to get out of his face and to leave him alone.

But that would require him to speak, and he already knew it wasn't worth it, next to it being absolutely uncalled for.

It wasn't Percy's fault, after all.

So he buried his face back at his knees instead, sobbing to himself.

Percy would get sick of watching him cry sooner or later, for sure.

"I'm gonna sit down next to you, okay?" His boyfriend said softly, but Will didn't react.

Why did Percy have to warn him, anyways?

Stupid.

It was all so very stupid.

He felt Percy moving, his eyes still closed, and Will stiffened, momentarily wondering whether it was really _Percy_ that was moving, or whether there _was_ somebody in the shadows…

Then he scolded himself for being stupid again.

This was Hades' cabin, and the god would never let anybody get inside that could pose a threat to Nico.

Or that's what he kept telling himself, anyways.

His boyfriend settled down next to him, barely close enough for his arm to brush ever so faintly against Will, but the rush of uncertainty and concern was enough to make him flinch and pull away.

If Percy noticed, he didn't let it show, and he didn't speak up, simply sitting there next to him and waiting for whatever he was waiting for, letting Will cry.

This was so, so, _so_ stupid.

Why was he even crying?

He didn't know.

Will rubbed at his eyes with his hands, trying to somehow, miraculously stop, but the tears didn't obey.

Why did Percy have to watch him, anyways?

Couldn't he just finally leave?

Couldn't he just go back to bed?

Did the guys always have to go through the trouble of being there for him?

Maybe he didn't _want_ them to be there for him?

What good did that do, anyways?

All that did was make him feel even more stupid and even more ashamed, and it would only make them realize so much sooner how pathetic he was.

Also, it didn't help, did it now?

It didn't-…

Will stopped, realizing with a jolt that the shadows _had_ stopped seeming so ominous, that his focus had shifted to his boyfriend, rather than his surroundings; to Percy's quiet breathing, rather than the noises he thought he could make out; to the way he had his legs pulled up just like Will, rather than the movements in the shadows he thought he had spotted; to the way he was just _there_ , not talking, not judging, rather than his own miserable memories of insults and pain and punishment.

Oh.

Will stared off into space for a long moment, trying to wrap his mind around that, trying to see how this simple _nothing_ could make so much of a difference, his tears running down his cheeks freely, his hands uselessly on his knees.

He remembered when he had left the cabin to cry by himself in their clearing, unwilling to let them see, unwilling to cry in front of them _again_ , to be weak, to be so desperate for help, for attention, for whatever, thinking they wouldn't understand, thinking they would chide him, thinking they just _had_ to get sick of him and his tears sooner or later.

Percy had come for him back then, too, probably following him from the beginning on, though he hadn't noticed until he had been in the clearing, had said his name, had sat down next to him, not talking, not chiding, just sitting there and offering his presence, his support, a shoulder to cry on should he need it, a sign he was not alone.

Will lowered his gaze, his heart still beating wildly, but now for different reasons.

He glanced sideways at Percy as inconspicuously as he could, but Percy wasn't looking at him, wasn't staring, he just sat there, looking straight ahead, his hands on his knees just like Will had them, his expression saying he was awake and alert, but not that he was annoyed, upset, or exasperated.

He was simply there, and he let Will make his decision whether he wanted his support or not.

Will averted his gaze again, then sobbed and let himself fall against his boyfriend, who covered up his surprise by immediately moving an arm around him and tugging him closer.

He whispered something that sounded like a 'Shh, I got you', over and over again, as he stroked over Will's arm, his lips against the top of his head, keeping him close while trying not to smother him.

Will clung to him like a baby, anyways, and he was so distracted by the sensation of _Percy_ , that he couldn't even find the time to feel very ashamed.

Percy didn't even seem to notice how pathetic he was being.

There was nothing that indicated it, at least.

All there was, was love, care and concern.

Will crawled closer, burying his face in Percy's shirt as his tears finally seemed to subside, though his sobbing continued.

He had a wonderful boyfriend, had he mentioned that?

Percy was an amazing person.

They remained in that position for what felt like forever, Will clinging to him, and Percy with his arm around him and stroking over his shoulder and arm, letting him.

In fact, they stayed like that until Will's dry sobbing finally subsided completely, and silence returned to the Hades cabin.

Even then, they didn't _move_ , but Percy's stroking stilled, and Will knew he was going to talk even before he did.

"Feeling a bit better now?" Percy asked softly, and Will gave a faint nod, already having expected that question.

"Want to talk about it?" Percy offered, and Will shook his head the tiniest bit.

Percy didn't argue, didn't tell him that 'talking about it might help' or that he _should_ tell them what was wrong.

Instead, he stroked over his arm again.

"Okay."

Will wasn't sure, but he felt as if he had rather had Percy screaming at him than just quietly accepting it.

This just made him feel even guiltier about everything, really.

Not only had he woken Percy up, he wasn't even going to tell him _why_.

Then again, what was there to say?

'I got scared because I'm an idiot'?  
'It was suddenly too much'?  
'I don't know'?

"Did you know…" Percy started, and Will flinched slightly, not having expected him to speak again.

Percy stroked over his arm soothingly, waiting until Will relaxed again before he continued.

"Did you know that, back when Annabeth and I broke up, I was scared of the dark?" He said quietly, and Will frowned, wondering why he was telling him that, why he was talking at all, why he was saying _that_.

Did he know?

That Will had been watching the shadows?

"They reminded me of…of Tartarus, you know? Even though they were a lot calmer and had nothing to do with that place, whenever it would get dark, and I was alone, I'd get reminded, and I'd get scared." Percy explained, and Will wondered how anybody could ever think of darkness as 'calm'.

Then again, after going through Tartarus, one would probably think differently about a lot of things.

"I started being unable to sleep, and didn't know where to go. Annabeth had Piper, after all, so she didn't really want me bothering her anymore, especially not in the middle of the night. So…well, I tried to cope on my own. But that didn't work out too well, you know? And then, I had this absolutely crazy idea of going to Jason, just like that. I was worried he'd judge me, worried he'd laugh at me for seeking help, but you know what he did?"

Wrap his arms around him and hug him until Percy couldn't breathe anymore?

"He pulled me into his cabin immediately, letting me sleep in one of his bunks, and he even stayed with me for the rest of the night, sleeping on top of the blanket while I was beneath it."

…Close enough.

"He'd talk to me when I needed a distraction, and he'd be quiet and just _be there_ when I needed silence. But he never questioned it, you know? Never asked why I was being like that, or acted annoyed that I'd bother him out of nowhere. He just helped. And…that helped a lot." Percy continued, and Will wasn't surprised, though he also knew that was something entirely different.

What Percy had gone through and what Will had gone through, that was worlds apart.

Will's past was _nothing_ compared to that.

Percy had to know that, too.

But his boyfriend didn't bring that up at all.

Instead, he kept talking, telling him quietly about how he had realized it was okay to _not_ be okay, and that even the mere presence of others could already be a lot of help.

Will didn't say anything to that, though he listened, feeling himself relaxing more and more against Percy as he kept talking, now telling him about how he and Jason had taken to following Nico around, and how he had had the bright idea of making the Advent Calendar – and even about how he had slowly but surely found himself drawn to Will.

Percy had such a nice way of telling things.

He'd be great at telling/making up bedtime stories.

Maybe he'd even make a good author, if it wasn't for his heavy dislike of writing/typing due to his dyslexia.

Will felt himself sliding down Percy's side until he had his head on his boyfriend's lap, and Percy started stroking through his hair gently, still talking and talking and talking, his voice soft and soothing and nice.

They stayed like that for a long time, with Will listening quietly as he watched the shadows dancing in the room while it started getting lighter outside ever so slowly.

How long had they been here?

Way too long, probably.

He could even feel that Percy's legs had fallen asleep, but Percy didn't complain or mention it in any way, nor did he move.

"I'm sorry." He whispered at long last, and Percy fell silent, his hand halting in its stroking.

"What are you sorry for, sun-bug?" Percy whispered back, but Will merely shrugged.

For being an idiot?  
For waking him up?  
For everything?

Percy resumed his stroking.

"Don't be sorry. I like spending time with you like this. Maybe not necessarily with you crying and hurting, but…well, I wouldn't mind spending more mornings with you, just talking or sitting somewhere together, passing the time." Percy reasoned, and Will turned his head to shoot him an unimpressed glance.

He didn't believe a word of that.

"Yeah, right. And you're absolutely _not_ uncomfortable in any way, I assume?" He remarked, taking note of the stiffness of Percy's limbs and his still asleep legs.

Percy made a face and ruffled through his hair.

"I don't care. I like being with you, sun-bug. Deal with it."

Never.

"You should have just gone back to bed, really." Will muttered, though he made no move to pull away, merely turning his head away again and rubbing his cheek against Percy's boxer-shorts.

"And leave you alone? Never. You wouldn't do that if I was the one hurting, would you now?"

That was different.

"It's not different, at all."

Blah.

Who had allowed his boyfriends to get so good at reading him?

Will merely huffed.

"Still."

"Nope."

Freaking stubborn boyfriend.

Will huffed again.

"Suit yourself."

"I will. Glad to have your permission, though." Percy retorted, and Will groaned, before biting his boyfriend's thigh.

Percy let out a small yelp, then flicked the side of his head.

"Oi, that's no way of treating your loved ones. How would you like it if _I_ bit _your_ thigh, huh?"

Not much, since it would probably hurt quite a bit, and Will had had enough of that for a lifetime.

"Do what you want." He sulked, and Percy let out a long sigh, before starting to stroke through his hair again.

For a long moment, there was silence.

They should really go back to bed.

Percy should get some more sleep before he had to give lessons again, after all.

He'd be grumpy and easily frustrated if he didn't get enough sleep.

"Hey Will?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going to tell me? About what made you leave the bed?"

Not if he could help it.

"You don't have to. I just want to…" Percy started, but Will already knew why he was asking.

"It's nothing you guys did. I just…I think it was a nightmare. That's all. Not your fault." He muttered, then pulled away from Percy's lap, no matter how comfortable it might be.

Percy let him, waiting until he had settled back down next to him before leaning back against Will slightly with a small sigh.

"Okay. Will?"

Why didn't he just flat-out ask or say whatever he wanted?

"Hm?"

"You know you can talk to us about anything, right?"

"I do."

"Even if it's something bad. _Especially_ if it's something bad."

That sounded ominous.

Will thought of his vision and turned his head away further, intently studying the shadows that were still rather dark and gloomy.

"Mhm."

"Will?"

Will sighed.

"Yes, Percy?"

"I love you."

Will automatically turned to look at his boyfriend, searching his gaze for an explanation behind the confession, but Percy looked at him with nothing but sincerity in his gaze.

"I love you too, Percy." He said quietly, and the small, fleeting smile hushing over Percy's face wasn't lost to him.

He looked away again, unsure what to do with himself, with them, what to do in general, and silence settled back over them and the cabin.

They really should get back to bed.

Will just wasn't sure whether he should.

What if he fell asleep and this happened again?

What if he freaked out again?

He had pushed them away this time, what if he actually _hurt_ them next time?

No matter if accidental or not, he couldn't live with himself if he hurt his guys.

Will pulled his legs up further, burying his face back at his knees, while Percy started stroking over his arm again.

The silence stretched on and on, even though Will knew he should probably say something.

He hadn't even thanked Percy yet.

He should really do that, then send Percy back to bed.

Will remained silent.

Percy stayed by his side, not complaining, not making him talk, and Will felt him moving his legs as if to get some feeling back into them, though he also didn't say anything about that.

Then, out of nowhere, his boyfriend suddenly started humming.

Will frowned, though he didn't immediately look around, until he realized Percy wasn't just humming randomly, but was humming a tune.

Why was he humming a song?

Will tried to pinpoint what song it was, and then, he did look around at Percy, confusion filling him.

"Why are you…" He started bewildered, because, hell, it was, what, 4am in the morning, and his boyfriend was humming 'You are my sunshine' to him?

Like, _what_?

But Percy's finger was on his lips immediately, shushing him as he continued humming.

'You are my sunshine' turned into another song Will didn't know, then into 'Kiss me', and now Percy was getting up, motioning for Will to take his hand and come with him.

Will did, though he still wasn't sure what he was doing, nor where Percy was going to take him.

Percy took him to the middle of the room, tugging him closer and moving Will's arms until they were around his neck, his own hands settling on Will's sides, his humming only picking up in intensity.

Will searched his eyes, not understanding, but then Percy started moving, slowly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as if he was trying to…

Realization washed over Will, his eyes widening as he stared at Percy, utterly dumbfounded.

Percy smiled at him softly, then he tugged him closer, and Will allowed his face to disappear at the crook of Percy's neck, feeling his skin warming as he started mimicking Percy's movements, joining him in his 'dance'.

This was…undoubtedly the most awkward, yet the sweetest thing anybody had ever done for him.

It had to be.

Percy kept on humming songs, and when he started on 'Satellite', Will had a hunch where he had gotten the idea from.

Instead of saying anything, though, Will cleared his throat and started singing quietly, which was more a whispering of the lyrics, but it was good enough for them as they swayed to imaginary music, their arms tightly around each other, their bodies close together, and their faces buried at each other's shoulders.

And then, Percy started humming _Will's_ song.

The one he had made for them.  
The one he had played for them.  
The one he had sung for them.

And Will sang it again, softly, a smile spreading on his lips as he felt Percy's heart thumping happily in his chest, the relief and euphoria flooding through him seeming to flow right into Will as well.

He hiccupped in the middle of a line, and suddenly, they were both giggling, and Will nudged Percy's side for that insolence, but that only made Percy giggle harder, before they were both stumbling.

How could they even stumble, when they had mostly been moving _on one spot_?

Well, they managed, anyways, and then Percy kissed him softly, and Will kissed back, and, maybe, just maybe, this morning wasn't going to be all _that_ bad anymore, after all.

Not with such a sappy, but absolutely wonderful, boyfriend.

Now, if only that lasted forever.

...

Nico watched Will watching their clearing.

It was interesting, watching Will.

Now that Nico allowed himself to admit to things he had denied for so long, he knew he had watched Will a lot in the past, too.

There was always something new to learn.

Will, with his perfect mask and his top-notch acting skills…was actually disturbingly easy to read.

It was the way he held himself, with his back on the blanket, his head on Jason's chest, his legs thrown over Nico's lap, that showed Nico he trusted them enough to let down his guard.

But it was also the way his gaze was focused on a spot in the far distance, where the water was, the way his expression seemed forcefully blank, and the way his whole demeanor seemed between expectant and apprehensive, that showed Nico he was still absolutely on edge, instead of relaxing as he should.

Nico knew why.

He had known the moment they had stepped into their clearing, and had seen the bright greens and the vivid colors, which had immediately given him a sense of déjà-vu.

It hadn't taken him long to figure out what the scene had reminded him of.

Their clearing looked _exactly_ like when Will had been assaulted in his dream by Kyle.

Nico glanced towards Jason, who was idly stroking through Percy's hair as their boyfriend had his head on his chest just like Will had.

He was surprised Jason didn't seem to notice anything, yet.

Usually, Jason noticed first whenever there was something amiss with Will.

Then again, Will was a splendid actor.

And they weren't suspecting anything.

Of course they weren't.

They hadn't seen what Nico had seen, after all.

Will shifted, and Nico glanced back at him, watching him purse his lips as he kept staring off into the distance.

He seemed…conflicted.

Nico half wanted to assure him, half wanted to give him a chance to make up his mind as to what to do.

But nothing happened.

The seconds ticked by, turning into minutes, and Will was shifting, but he wasn't pulling away, wasn't getting up, wasn't looking their way, wasn't saying anything.

He just stared into space, but the tension in his body seemed to only grow, instead of lessen.

Nico reached out to put his hand over Will's knee.

"You know he can't get here, Will." He said quietly, his voice cutting through the silence, though he hoped they wouldn't sound too harsh to Will.

Percy and Jason looked around in question, but Will only winced and drew together slightly.

Then he sighed, and the tension was gone.

"I _know_. It's just…it just all reminds me of…" His boyfriend tried, but words seemed to fail him.

Nico knew only all too well how that felt.

"Me too. But nothing is going to happen. We're safe here." Nico soothed, stroking over Will's knee when he noticed Will hadn't pulled it away from him.

He felt Percy's and Jason's puzzled looks, but wasn't sure whether he had the right to tell them.

This wasn't about something that had happened to him, after all, but to Will, and it should be Will telling them if he was willing to let them know.

Will sighed again, making no move to speak as he turned his head to gaze back at the water once more.

"Yeah…I know." He whispered at long last, though he didn't sound relieved.

More…sad, really.

Nico wished he knew what was going on in that pretty head, sometimes.

"I was dreaming about this." Will said quietly, and Nico started stroking over his knee slowly, in the hopes that would offer some sort of comfort, some sort of mute 'it's okay'.

"It was a nice dream. Just…us, in this clearing, everything quiet and peaceful. Very pretty."

Well…that was unexpected.

He had sort of assumed Will would actually talk about Kyle now.

Though it was strange to realize Will must have actually dreamed _before_ Kyle had shown up.

Even more so when he realized Will had apparently dreamed of _them_.

Had he dreamed of this then, too?

Of them _together_?

He saw Percy and Jason exchanging a look, both of them still seeming confused.

Then, Jason frowned and looked at Nico, before realization dawned on his face.

Ah.

He had figured it out.

"And it was…well, I just…you know, it was really…erm…nice. Until it got ruined of course, but…yeah…" Will started stammering, and Nico frowned, wondering if Will himself even knew what he wanted to say.

Will pulled his leg away, then he suddenly sat up, and the way he seemed to practically _withdraw_ didn't sit well with Nico whatsoever.

However, he realized why when he saw Percy's scandalized expression and Jason's set jaw.

Uh-oh.

"This is where he attacked you, isn't it?" Percy asked, his voice breathless, and his expression still shocked, while Jason turned to shoot Nico a look that said 'Why didn't you tell us?'.

Nico pointedly looked away.

He wasn't going to take Will's decisions away from him.

Will had entered the clearing, had seen what Nico had seen, and had put down the blanket, anyways, so of course Nico hadn't said anything.

He wouldn't even have said anything now, if Will had just managed to let it go by himself.

"I don't want to talk about it." Will snapped, and Nico blinked, eyes hushing back to his blonde.

"Why didn't you say anything? We could have left! Done something else!" Percy exclaimed in disbelief, but Nico was pretty sure that was the _wrong_ thing to say.

"Stop doing that!" Will shot back, looking borderline _angry_ , before his expression suddenly changed and he turned his back to them, wrapping his arms around his knees and staring off into space stubbornly.

Percy opened his mouth, but Nico reached out to grab his shoulder, making him shut up.

"Will, what's wrong?" He asked, instead, and Percy puffed his cheeks indignantly for a moment, but then his expression softened as he gazed back at Will.

Jason was dead quiet, as always when he was angry.

Will slumped slightly.

"I don't…you wouldn't understand."

Rude.

But at least he wasn't snapping at them anymore.

"How about you give us the benefit of the doubt?" Nico tried tentatively, but Will merely buried his face at his knees, mumbling something they couldn't quite catch.

Well, at least Nico couldn't.

"You're not a bother, though." Jason stated firmly, and Nico guessed _he_ had heard just fine.

"I…I don't know how to talk about…things." Will then muttered meekly, and something in his voice made Nico move automatically, moving closer and wrapping his arms around Will from behind.

Which was something that could also go terribly wrong, but Will didn't seem surprised nor perturbed in the slightest, instead falling back against him.

"Get back on the blanket, you dork." Nico said quietly, tugging Will with him gently, and Will followed with a sigh.

"Sorry for snapping at you." He mumbled, but Percy merely shrugged and reached out to tug him towards him, as if trying to steal him from Nico.

"It's okay. Everybody has a bad day sometimes."

So understanding.

Nico agreed with Percy, of course.

What he didn't agree with, was the way he seriously tried to _take Will from him_.

No.

No, no way, Will was _his_ right now.

Nico tugged on Will again, pulling him onto his lap, and Percy shot him a look that said 'What do you think you're doing?', before, once more, trying to tug him closer to him, instead.

"I'm not having a bad day." Will insisted, oblivious to their struggle.

Jason, however, was not.

"Guys, cut it out. Now's not the time to get possessive." He chided, before moving his arms around Will and trying to take him away from both of them.

Oh, hell no.

"Forget it." They both snapped at Jason, then wrapped their arms tightly around Will from front and back, and Will snorted out a small laugh as he seemed to realize what was going on.

Then he buried his face at Percy's shoulder and allowed Nico to pull him onto his lap correctly.

There.

Much better.

"You guys are the worst." Will whispered, and Jason huffed as he was forced to sit down behind Percy to get closer.

That's what he got.

"How so?" Percy asked, and Will sighed.

"I don't want to be comforted. I don't want you guys to worry all the damn time. I'm _fine_. Or getting there, anyways." He exclaimed, then slumped even more.

"I just…I don't want you to baby me. Being here doesn't bother me, it's the memory that bothers me. It's my head that bothers me. My thoughts. Not what you do or don't do, or where we are. It's pretty here. I like it. I love this place, especially with you in it. Don't…don't let him ruin that for me." Will whispered quietly, and Nico saw Jason's jaw set again, though he didn't speak up.

Neither did Percy.

Which probably meant Nico had to.

"Does that mean you want to get off my lap? Because I kinda like you on me." He blurted.

 _Wow, very smooth, di Angelo._

Will snorted out a weak laugh, then turned his head to shoot Nico an unimpressed look, though the way his eyes seemed glassy and close to tears showed he was still struggling.

"Well, I guess I can make an exception for you, sweetheart. Wouldn't want to deny you anything, right?"

Nico raised an eyebrow, mutely asking him whether that meant he'd stay because he wanted to, or because he thought he had to.

Will replied by snuggling back into his hold and burying his face back at Percy's neck.

"Though I think I can see why Percy liked that moment in the park."

A grin formed on Percy's face, and Nico blinked, noticing off-handedly that Will was right.

This was a lot like the way they had sat together in the park, back on Percy's and his anniversary.

Kind of odd, realizing they had been that close and done _that_ , when they hadn't even been dating yet.

"It's great, isn't it? You should let me kiss you, might show you just how amazing _that_ felt." Percy suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrows, and Nico caught Jason rolling his eyes behind him.

"Smooth, Jackson."

Will merely chuckled quietly.

"Shouldn't Jason be the one kissing me, in that case?" The blonde mused, and Jason seemed to freeze, his expression changing to surprise.

Then, _he_ was the one wiggling his eyebrows at Will.

"Ready when you are."

"Oh _wow_!" Percy huffed derisively, and Nico smiled and shook his head to himself.

Those dorks.

"I…would you really want to…try? I mean, I'd kind of like to, but at the same time, this is hardly the right time, with you still upset, and me being an idiot, and everything being so…" Will suddenly started rambling anxiously, and Percy and Nico shared a quick look, trying to cover up their surprise.

Jason, however, didn't seem surprised at all, his expression soft and affectionate once more as he leaned over Percy to clasp Will's chin.

"Freckles, it's _always_ the right time to kiss." He whispered, and then did just that.

Nico smiled, and watched Percy's ears turning red as he turned his head and watched those two kiss up close, his expression turning dazed.

Yeah, Nico liked watching Will and Jason kiss, too.

They always started so nice and slow and sensual, but they also always had that tendency to suddenly let things escalate, and when their kisses turned heated and lusty…well, Nico certainly loved watching _that_.

By the looks of it, Percy did, too.

Nico's smile widened, then he leaned forward to press a chaste kiss to Will's neck from behind, promptly making him shiver and a small gasp escape his lips.

He took it as a sign to continue.

Kissing along his neck softly, he felt Percy moving and doing the same thing to Will's other side, and Will started trembling in their arms.

"Stop?" He asked quietly, but Will made a complainant sound immediately, so he continued, dragging his teeth and tongue along the soft skin, before he halted at Will's ear.

Should he…?

Will suddenly jolted and moaned, his hands flying up to clutch at Jason's arm and Percy's shirt, and the small cackle Percy let out in response showed he hadn't hesitated like Nico had.

So Nico didn't, either, moving closer to nibble gently on the side of Will's quickly reddening ear, immensely satisfied when Will let another moan slip, his body trembling more and more.

He couldn't see him and Jason kissing all that well, but he knew from the way Will started pressing into him that things were getting more and more heated.

"G-Guys…" Will suddenly gasped, his tone unusually urgent, and the reaction was almost immediate.

Percy pulled away as if stung.

Jason moved away with a sound of mingled distress.

Will let out a confused-sounding wail.

Nico…was a bit slow on the uptake, so he wasn't even done asking "Too much?" before the guys were already at the other end of the blanket, and Will was left to slump in Nico's arms in defeat, heaving a heavy sigh.

"I didn't mean for you to _stop_!" He whined, sounding between exasperated and _hurt_ , and Nico automatically wrapped his arms around him to keep him close, before _he_ could pull away, too.

What a drastic mood-change.

There Nico had actually thought they might…go a bit further.

Not much, of course (they were still outside, after all), but…at least they could have continued for a while longer…

He surely wouldn't have minded.

However, looking at Percy and Jason, and the way they still seemed to be recovering from the shock of thinking they had overdone it somehow, he was pretty sure the mood was ruined.

Shame.

"I…ah…sorry. I thought…" Percy stammered, his face quickly turning crimson, while Jason opened and closed his mouth, a matching blush creeping up his neck.

Wow, guys.

Will slumped further, and even though Nico couldn't see his face, he knew that couldn't be a good thing.

"But don't you see? This is _exactly_ what I mean! You're scared of doing something wrong, when you shouldn't be! And that's all because…it's all just…I don't _want_ you to be like that, okay? I can't take it! I can take you touching me, I can take you kissing me, I _know the freaking difference_ , guys! What I _can't_ take is that you act as if you have to treat me with kid gloves. I'm not made of glass! I'm not…not…I'm not a freaking _time bomb_ or something that you'll set off just because you do something I don't enjoy to a 100%." Will rambled, and Nico saw both Jason and Percy wince.

Guilt flashed over their faces, but all that did was make Will draw his shoulders up, and Nico felt him trying to withdraw again, trying to pull away from him.

The fact the guys couldn't seem to find anything suitable to say didn't help whatsoever, either.

Nico took a deep breath, then pulled Will against him resolutely.

No, he wouldn't let him get away now.

"Will, this is _us_ you're talking about. That's worrywart Percy, mother hen Jason, and uncertain me. We're _always_ like that. We know you're not made of glass. We know you're not a time bomb or anything of the sort." He replied determinedly, and Will huffed in disbelief.

"I'm scared, I admit that. I'm scared I'll do something wrong, and that you'll end up getting hurt because of me, but that's not because I think you're weak, or because I think you can't take it. That's because I don't want to hurt you. Nor do I want to hurt Jason or Percy. And I know I can't talk for them, but I can tell you that Percy is the one who treated me with kid gloves for the longest time, too, since he was just as uncertain as I was, and as unwilling as I was to cause discomfort." He continued quietly, and Will's hands moved to his arms around his chest, holding onto him as he lowered his head, probably trying to hide his face from Percy and Jason.

"Nobody scrambles away from you like _that_ , though…" He heard him mumble ever so quietly, and Nico snorted.

"Oh, you'd be surprised. You know, there was this _one_ time…"

"Oh, come on, Nico, you can't tell him _that_!" Percy cried indignantly, and Nico shot him an innocent look, before grinning.

"Why not? I think it was hilarious."

It really had been.

"I almost broke my neck!" Percy exclaimed, and Nico huffed.

Oh, come on, it hadn't been _that_ bad.

Well…debatable, but Percy hadn't _really_ come to harm, so there was that.

"What? What happened?" Jason asked, looking confused, and Nico caught Will turning his head ever so faintly, also seeming curious.

Percy gave him an almost pleading look, as if begging him not to tell.

Nico was torn between sighing and laughing.

He pulled Will onto his lap properly to bury his face at the side of his neck, mainly to hide his grin from Percy, who already started complaining, expecting his doom.

"Let's just say he misunderstood my 'Percy, wait a moment' for a 'Please jump backwards in a wet and slippery bathtub'. I'm still amazed he only tore _us_ down, not all the shower and bath supplies." He told them, and Percy fake-sobbed, calling him a traitor and grumbling something about his testament.

Percy didn't even have a testament.

Nobody pointed that out though, as Jason and Will both snorted out small laughs, not seeming surprised in the slightest.

"Oh really?" They both teased, and Percy wailed loudly, though he was also suddenly moving closer, and Nico only had time to pull his head away from Will's neck before he was already assaulted by his boyfriend, who tore him down to the ground and let his whole weight drop on top of him.

"You _traitor_! How could you? We said we wouldn't speak of that, like, _ever_! I nearly broke my neck! I nearly broke _your_ neck! It's all Will's fault for telling us to have sex in the shower." Percy lamented, and Nico grunted under him as he tried to make him budge, while Will made an affronted noise in the background.

"I said no such thing! I merely told you it was _possible_ , not that I _wanted_ you to do that! Such accusations! Plus, why would I tell you that, when I'd much rather ravish Nico, myself? Not to mention that sex in the shower sucks. Like, who does that, even?"

Percy and Nico both turned their heads to throw him long, pointed looks, and their favorite sunshine started laughing loudly.

Ha. There it was.

Both Percy and Nico relaxed, small smiles appearing on their faces as they shot each other warm looks, and Percy even gave him a small peck on the lips.

Mission accomplished.

Will seemed at ease again.

Percy gave him another peck, and even though he was still complaining, his eyes said 'Good job'.

Yeah, well, it was the truth though.

They were simply scared of doing something wrong, and that was all there was to it.

Of course, they _were_ a tad more worried of doing something wrong when it came to Will, but that was more because Will had a tendency to downplay anything that made him uncomfortable (or he simply didn't tell them at all, that idiot), not because of any of the things Will seemed to fear.

Though Nico had to admit he kind of knew what Will had meant by saying he wasn't sure _how_ to talk about such things.

Nico hadn't been sure, either.

He still wasn't, in a way.

But he felt he had improved quite a bit if he considered how bad it had been in the beginning, with him stammering and feeling like the whole world was judging him if he dared to open his mouth and say something like 'Wait' or 'Stop'.

That improvement was partly because of Will, too.

Nico wasn't sure why, but the more he realized that his boyfriends had the same worries he had, the easier it felt to him to accept these worries and do something against them.

Maybe Will needed that, too?

But Will should already know, shouldn't he?

He was the one constantly reminding them to speak up, after all (next to Jason, of course).

Not to mention he was the one who could apparently _feel_ what they felt, so he should _definitely_ know already.

Maybe there was something else they could do.

Percy kissed his nose, and Nico huffed out a small laugh, finally managing to free his arms so he could wrap them around his boyfriend's neck.

"Yes, yes, I'm a traitor, and you're sooo upset with me. I can totally see it. Your kisses practically _scream_ of disappointment and resentment." He remarked, and glimpsed Jason tentatively moving closer to Will, whispering something to the blonde, while Will looked down at his hands with a small shrug and a nod.

There.

They'd be okay.

"Yeah? Good. That's _exactly_ how I wanted my kisses to come across. Mhm." Percy replied with a grin, before pecking him on the nose again.

Then he pulled back, and Nico acted exaggeratedly relieved, taking a deep breath and acting as if he had been about to die, which made Percy flick his forehead, before they both chuckled and moved back over to Will.

"So…erm…you want to try again?" Percy asked the blonde sheepishly as he allowed them to wrap themselves around him again, though this time Percy stole Nico's spot and settled down behind Will.

Mean.

Nico grinned and wrapped himself around Percy from behind, giving him a kiss on his clothed shoulder.

Good thing that he liked this just as much.

"Nah, it's okay." Will brushed off, and let himself fall back against them automatically, which already showed he was a lot better than a few minutes ago.

Though his reply also made it more than apparent that he wasn't completely fine yet.

"You sure?" Jason asked, and Will let out a deep sigh.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Stubborn dork.

Nico sighed, putting his chin on Percy's shoulder as he gazed off into space thoughtfully.

What _could_ they do to solve that problem, though?

If they kept jumping back like that each and every time one of them said anything that could somewhat be considered a 'Stop', then Nico already knew that neither he or Will would ever dare to speak up, unwilling to ruin the mood or whatever would be going on at that moment.

Nico thought back to how things had been between him and Percy in the beginning, and of how difficult it had felt to him to voice out his worries, and how _awkward_ it had been when he had actually _dared_.

Then he thought of all the advice the guys had given him, and how Percy had always tried his best to reassure him and make him more comfortable and at ease.

Nico wanted to do the same for them, too.

He wanted to find a solution for this.

But what was there…

Wait, hadn't Will told him something like this before?

In the beginning, when he and Percy had gotten together?

Nico clearly remembered Will mentioning something in passing, something that 'might help them until they were more comfortable with each other' and the like.

What was it…wait…

"Guys?" He asked out of the blue, and had their undivided attention immediately, with Jason and Percy abruptly stopping in the middle of whatever they were going to say, and all three of them turning their heads to him.

"How about safewords?" Nico tried tentatively, and watched their faces intently for a reaction.

He didn't have to wait long.

Percy's face brightened, more than apparently all for the idea, while Jason's expression turned thoughtful, as if pondering the pros and cons of that.

And Will…Will looked conflicted and more apprehensive than anything else, before his expression turned stony.

Oh.

Nico's insides churned.

Maybe he shouldn't have said anything.

Or mentioned it to Will, first, in a quiet moment, away from the guys, to first gauge his reaction.

But it had originally been _his idea_!

Well, his advice, at any rate.

And it was great advice!

Sure, Percy and Nico hadn't actually done that, but that was because Percy hadn't heard Will, and Nico hadn't known how to bring it up, nor had it really seemed necessary back then.

Not that it really was 'necessary' now.

But…it might actually help, right?

If they had a word that they could say, any word that would signal a stop, something that meant 'Yes, now you may jump back in terror'…then the other words wouldn't make them do that anymore, right?

Nico wasn't _exactly_ sure how safewords worked.

But that had to be the gist of it, right?

"I think that's a great idea!" Percy exclaimed, but Nico's eyes were fixed on Will, who still had the same stony expression.

"I agree. Of course, we'd have to make sure to use words we don't generally use, but that would still come to mind quickly, both for the one using them, as well as the ones that have to get the meaning…" Jason mused, and now all three of them were looking at Will, who made an effort not to look at any of them.

"What do you think, Will?" Percy asked, and Nico was partly glad _Percy_ was the one asking, and partly felt bad for not doing it, himself.

Will stared off into space for another long moment, his expression still forcefully blank, though the inner conflict was visible in his eyes.

What did he have against safewords?

The more Nico thought about it, the more it seemed like a great idea.

It was worth a try, at the very least, right?

"It would definitely prevent any more dramatic interruptions or bathroom stunts." He pointed out tentatively, and Percy shot him a sulky look, while Jason's expression turned slightly guilty.

"Thinking about it, that really _is_ a great idea. If we had safewords, then Jason wouldn't keep pausing every five minutes to ask me whether I'm 'really' okay." Percy then mused, and the blush that had previously crept up Jason's neck was right back.

Oh gods, those two.

Though Nico had to admit Percy was right, Jason _had_ done that the past times he and Percy had taken things further while Nico had been around.

"Excuse me for trying to make sure my boyfriend is enjoying himself!" Jason exclaimed indignantly, but Percy merely chuckled and reached out to tug him closer by the back of his neck and peck his lips.

"I know, I know. No worries, I think it's cute. Though it really _can_ get quite infuriating."

"Get a room, you two." Nico commented wryly, and they both shot him unimpressed looks.

"You just want to have Will all to yourself." Percy argued and wrapped his arms a little tighter around Will, who was now eyeing them skeptically, though his expression was more thoughtful than anything else, which had to count as improvement.

"Yeah? So? What are you gonna do about it?" Nico retorted, and while Percy's mouth fell open in apparent surprise, Jason snorted out a laugh.

"Yeah, Percy, what are you gonna do about it?" He teased, and Percy huffed indignantly, pushing Jason's face away with one hand, though he still eyed Nico with a mixture of surprise and awe.

"Since when are you a cocky little shit, eh?"

Nico decided to take offense to that statement.

"Who are you calling little? Just you wait, in a few years I'll be able to use you as an armrest." He exclaimed, and poked his boyfriend's sides, while Jason let out a drawn-out 'Ooh' (Will's siblings surely were bad influence, it seemed).

Percy squeaked, then wailed, then started complaining about Nico 'growing up way too quickly'.

(What was he, a child?)

Then, Percy suddenly stopped in the middle of his rambling to look around at Will.

"Wait, what did you think of the safewords, now?"

Oh.

True, they shouldn't get sidetracked.

This was important.

Will gave a small shrug, now looking down, rather than into the distance.

"It's a good idea. If it helps you guys, sure." He said at long last, and Nico frowned.

"It's supposed to help _all_ of us." He pointed out, though it should be obvious, and Will gave an ever so faint nod to show he had heard.

"Yeah. But we'll really have to make sure to know each other's words. Like, by heart. And I want 'Stop' to still mean just that." Percy put in, and Jason nodded immediately.

"Same. And we'll have to be able to trust each other to really, _really_ use that safeword if necessary." He emphasized, and Will stiffened to a board.

Uh-oh.

"Maybe we should do a test run, then? Something to get us comfortable with them? I mean, I'm not gonna do anything that makes any of you uncomfortable, but maybe we should do something like kissing and take turns in being the one to call an end to it?" Percy suggested, and Nico watched Will's expression darkening, the conflict right back in his eyes.

Apparently, he didn't like that idea one bit.

"Shouldn't we first settle on a word?" The blonde pointed out quietly, and both Percy and Jason fell silent.

Yeah…so…what was a good safeword?

"Fruit." Percy suggested, the same moment Jason said "Colors."

Erm…okay…

"What?" He asked, feeling a bit confused.

Okay, maybe he really should have talked with Will about this beforehand, or looked it up at least.

"We can use fruit. Mango, pineapple, apple, mushroom…wait, that's not a fruit…" Percy mumbled, and Nico frowned, looking back at Jason.

"Or we simply use colors. I heard about that before. Green for 'Okay', yellow for 'Wait' or 'Slower', and red for 'Stop'. Easy to remember for the one who needs to say it, and easy for the others to understand." Jason explained, but Percy huffed.

"Then what's blue?"

"Desperate." Nico replied without hesitation, and Percy shot him a look that said 'I'll get you for that later'.

Nico raised a quizzical eyebrow, but was distracted by Will letting out a loud sigh, shifting where he sat, as if he wanted to escape.

"Okay. Well, tell me if you made up your mind, alright?"

Will usually participated in each and every conversation there was, but now he seemed pretty intent on staying out of this one.

Nico didn't like it one bit.

"We don't have to do it if you don't want to, Will." He tried, but Will immediately waved off.

"I already said it's a good idea. Just don't know what else to say to it."

Nico would love to believe that, but Will's entire demeanor showed otherwise.

"Freckles, this is supposed to make you more comfortable, not _un_ comfortable." Jason pointed out, and Will started shifting even more.

"I'm fine."

Nico made a face.

 _Uh-oh._

Jason's expression went blank, and Percy let out a small hiss, and Nico cringed.

Just. Great.

Will seemed to practically freeze up for a moment, and Nico was already untangling himself from Percy before Will even managed to jump up, himself.

"Will, don't-…"

" _Don't_!" Will snapped back, then Nico thought he could hear him mumbling something like an apology or excuse, followed by a choked sob as his boyfriend turned and _freaking ran off_.

Oh, for the love of-…

Nico should have never said anything.

"Will!" Both Percy and Jason exclaimed surprised, but by the time they realized what was happening, Will was already gone, and so was Nico, rushing after his boyfriend.

"Will, wait!" He called after him, but Will decided to be a stubborn idiot and keep going, even quickening his pace.

"Leave me alone!"

Oh wow.

"What's the problem, anyways?" He tried, but all he got in reply was a few more choked sobs that made his heart ache.

What was wrong with Will today?

He wasn't usually like this, so on edge and easily set off.

Percy was the impulsive one.

Jason was the one always taking everything to heart immediately.

But Will…

" _I_ am the problem!" Will yelled, and Nico made a startled sound, stumbling over his own feet in surprise and nearly crashing into the ground.

What the…

"Will! Stop running away, for gods' sake!" He called after his boyfriend, but he acted deaf, so all Nico could do was chase after him as best as he could, only dimly aware of where they were going.

Though it was still a relief when they finally broke out of the forest, and he realized his boyfriend was making straight for the Hades' cabin.

At least that was something.

He caught up with him when Will started fumbling with the key, and didn't even bother slowing down much, instead crashing right into him (and the door) and wrapping his arms around him to stop him from storming off to anywhere else.

" _Will_!"

"Let me go! Go away! _Leave me alone_! Can't you guys give me peace for five minutes?!" Will exclaimed, yelled, sobbed, and kicked the door when his key didn't immediately fit, though the way he tried to shake Nico off probably didn't help with trying to unlock the door, either.

Nico had no intention whatsoever of leaving Will alone.

As much as he respected their wishes for peace whenever they wanted, and hated the mere thought of bothering them, this was the sort of situation in which he _had_ to be a bother.

"Will, stop it! _Now_!" He snapped, grabbing him by the shoulder and spinning him around in one fluid motion to make him look at him.

Will let out a drawn-out, miserable wail, his hands instantly shooting up to cover his face, though Nico snatched his wrists before they could get there.

"Will! Listen to me!" He tried again, trying not to let Will's tear-streaked get to him too much, though it was a losing battle.

" _Don't_!" Will sobbed, and Nico didn't even know what he meant, what he wanted him _not_ to do.

Hug him?  
Hold him?  
Comfort him?  
Tell him he was an idiot?

Well, Will was out of luck, because Nico was going to do all that, and nothing was going to stop him.

His hands let go of Will's wrists, immediately shooting up to his face to cup it, wiping away his tears and stroking over his cheeks.

"Will, calm down." He said, softer this time, but that had the opposite effect, making Will sob even louder as his hands now snatched Nico's wrists, pulling them away from his face.

"No! Leave me alone! Don't look at me! Just…go. Away. Let me…just let me…" Will struggled for words, and Nico was still none the wiser.

"Just let me be! For a little bit! Just. That!" Will insisted, but Nico stubbornly shook his head.

Jason might leave him be.

Percy might if Will insisted.

But Nico? Nico wasn't going to go anywhere until this was solved.

"What for? So you can tear yourself down even more before acting as if nothing happened and you're 'fine' again?" He asked, though he didn't expect Will to actually _nod wildly_ in reply.

 _Oh gods_.

"Yes!"

"No!" Nico snapped back, and Will let out another drawn-out wail.

This time, Nico was aware of people looking, of their gazes, of how they could see _his Will_ like this, when Will hated being seen like this.

 _…_ _Will hated being seen like this._

Nico pursed his lips and freed his hands from Will's grasp, ignoring the small whimper his boyfriend let out in reply.

Instead, he spun him back around, one hand moving to the small of his back, while his other hand shot up to unlock the door and push it open.

"Inside." He directed, and gave him a light push, before glancing over his shoulder to glower at each and every person he could spot looking their way.

If he heard _one word_ about this, he'd make sure to turn that crack in the ground into a freaking abyss and force everybody to get across by monkey bars only.

(Fuck gravity and all.)

Once he was certain Will was entering his cabin instead of doing something crazy like running away again, and had managed to send everybody his best death glare, he followed his boyfriend inside and slammed the door shut.

Will jumped, his eyes immediately hushing over to the bathroom, but Nico didn't even let him finish that thought before he had his arms back around him.

"Will, tell me what's _wrong_." He tried, but Will stubbornly shook his head, trying to wriggle out of his hold all over again.

"Nothing is wrong! You're all wonderful! Wonderful and perfect as always! Now let me go!"

"Don't lie to me." Nico shot back, and Will froze in his arms.

Then, Nico heard a very ill-concealed sob, and his heart ached in his chest.

Rubbing his forehead against Will's back, he took a deep breath.

"Will, I love you, okay? So…please…talk to me. What's wrong? If you don't want to use safewords, then we'll think of something different. It was just an idea." He tried, and felt Will slumping in his arms slightly, the fight apparently leaving him.

"It's…it's not that…" Will whispered, and Nico stilled to catch his words better, patiently waiting for him to continue.

Will's shoulders shook, and Nico could feel him drawing together even further, now rubbing at his face again, even though Nico wouldn't be able to see, anyways.

"Let's sit down?" He offered, gently nudging his boyfriend towards the bed, and Will nodded after a moment of hesitation, furiously rubbing at his face even though he still sobbed.

Nico wanted to touch, to comfort, to be the one to wipe away his tears and make sure he wasn't coming to any harm, but he knew they had to first talk this out.

They settled down on the bed, and Will immediately angled his body away from Nico to hunch together all over again, but Nico wasn't having any of that.

Tugging him closer, he started stroking over his back and urged him to face him, though he allowed Will to let his head drop on his shoulder.

The point was to get him closer, not to make him uncomfortable by staring at him when he didn't like being seen like this.

"I hate crying." Will whispered, and Nico ran his hands up and down his back.

Yeah, he knew that already.

What he didn't know was _why_ Will was even crying.

"It's just…I…it's all so _difficult_!"

What was?

Will let out another choked sob.

"And I never wanted you to see me like this. Not you. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Why can't anything ever go the way I want? It's so selfish, but _why_?!"

Nico frowned slightly.

"Do you want me to get Percy or Jason?" He asked, but Will shook his head.

"I don't want _any of you_ to see me like this! But you least of all. I wanted to…I wanted to be the one you could depend on, okay? The one who'd always be there and be…be _strong_. I wanted to be the one to reassure _you_ , not the other way around!"

Oh. That.

Really? Was that _still_ bothering him?

Nico let his head tip against Will's.

"But you _are_ all those things, Will. I rely on you. I know you're there for me. You're strong. And does even a single day pass in which you don't reassure me?" He asked, but Will stayed silent.

So Nico continued.

"But who says I can't be the same for you? Isn't that the whole point of a good and healthy relationship? That all parts involved are comfortable and trust one another to be there when they need them to be? That they all comfort each other? How weird would it be if only one part comforted the other? Who'd take care of the other one?" He asked, hoping he was making sense, and Will started drawing patterns on his thigh absent-mindedly.

"I…I guess so…"

Nico gave a small nod, his hands still stroking over Will's back soothingly.

"Yes. And you know what you told me is another big part of a good and healthy relationship? _Conversation_."

"Jason said that." Will corrected, and Nico rolled his eyes inwardly.

"No, you agreed to it, I clearly remember."

"Did not."

"Did too. Now, spill."

As if Nico was going to let him get away with this.

Nope.

Will took a rattling breath, then shrugged, then slumped.

"I…I don't know how…"

Nico gave him a peck to his head.

"Me neither, sunshine. Just start somewhere, okay? I'm not gonna judge."

"You're too kind. All of you. It's…it's not fair…"

Why? Because they weren't letting him suffer by himself?

"I want to be normal." Will suddenly blurted, and Nico halted in his stroking for a moment.

"You are normal, Will." He replied, confused, but Will shook his head.

"You know what I mean, Nico. I want to…I…I don't want you guys to worry. Not like that. I know you worry, always, about everything, ever, but…but that's different. Don't tell me it's not."

"It's not." Nico immediately argued, and Will let out a small wail.

"Yes, it is, Nico! And you know it! You…you…I didn't want you guys to know about _that_ for a reason, okay? Sure, I'd have told you eventually, especially if we had ended up together, but…but…"

"But what? You'd have left us in the dark until after we pushed past all your boundaries?" Nico asked, and Will flinched.

"You wouldn't have. I know you."

"Yeah, so you know we'd have been the exact same way as we are now." Nico pointed out, and felt Will shifting.

"No. You guys wouldn't have been so jumpy and scared. It would have confused you if I reacted badly to something, but you wouldn't have panicked, Nico."

Nico wasn't so sure.

He knew _he'd_ have still panicked.

Probably even more so than now, since he wouldn't have known what was the reason for Will's behavior, and the uncertainty would have killed him.

"I don't think so." He replied, then wondered whether arguing was really the best way to go about this.

Will made a small noise, but didn't speak up again for a long moment, and Nico felt him moving his face further to the left, away from the wet spot his tears had created on Nico's camp jacket.

"I still want to be normal."

Nico wasn't sure what to reply.

'You are, though'? He had already told him that.

'There's no such thing as 'normal', anyways'? That would probably upset him even more.

'I love you just the way you are'? That was…disturbingly sappy.

"In general, I mean. It's just…I want to…I want everything normal people get. I want to wake up in the morning and _not_ first dread who is behind me, but snuggle up to you and have that peaceful, nice start into the day. I don't want to remember all that…all that bad stuff. I don't want to wake up from dreaming about it, I don't want to stop in the middle of walking because I remember something, I don't want to dread I'm gonna freak out whenever we are making out. I'm…I'm scared of…that. That I'm gonna freak out. I don't want to freak out. You're so amazing, so kind, so wonderful, it's just not fair! Why can't we…why can't I…" Will broke off, sobbing again.

Nico shook his head softly, still rubbing over his back.

"Will, it's going to be okay. Healing takes time, okay? You need to consider that _he_ was at this Camp mere weeks ago. Do you really think anybody else would miraculously be fine after such short time, with everything that happened? With all of that brought up again out of nowhere?" Nico asked, very well aware that Will had said similar things to him, back when he had complained about not being allowed to use his powers immediately again after those three days in the infirmary.

Compared to Kyle, that was nothing, so Will should definitely take his own advice and give himself at least _some_ time.

"But I don't _have_ time!" Will suddenly exclaimed, then stiffened and fell silent again.

Nico frowned.

"Of course you do. It's not like we're going to rush you, Will. Take your time."

Will didn't say anything to that, though his fingers were tracing patterns on Nico's thigh again.

"But I already fucked up, didn't I…?" Will whispered ever so quietly, and Nico turned his head slightly, confused.

"What do you mean? Did we do something you-…"

"No." Will immediately insisted, and Nico felt even more confused.

Then what…

"But you don't trust me, do you? Jason said it, too. You three don't think you can trust me to speak up if I have to, do you?"

Nico opened his mouth to reply, but then hesitated.

Which seemed to be enough of a reply to Will, who drew another rattling breath and clutched Nico's hips now, his hands shaking along with the rest of his body.

"Will, it's not like that. It's just…you…"

"You're right." Will whispered, and Nico's heart _ached so much_ at the sound of his voice.

"Will…"

"You're right. I wouldn't say anything." Will said quietly, and Nico closed his eyes.

"Why?" He asked carefully, and Will gave a small shrug.

"Because I wouldn't want you to stop."

"But…"

"No. I wouldn't. Nico, I wanted _him_ to stop, and he never did, okay? It hurt _so much_ , and I pleaded with him to stop, and he _didn't_."

"But we would-…"

"I _know_ you would, Nico! That's the point. I know you would, but you're not _him_! I don't want _you_ to stop. You're not hurting me. And even if you were, it wouldn't be like that. But that's the point, Nico! I don't _ever_ want you to stop! If you do something I don't like, it's not even something I don't like, it's something he has done and that reminds me of _that_ , and then I panic, and it's all just…it's all just so fucking _unfair_ , okay? I didn't choose this, any of it. I just want to fucking…I want to…why can't I just start from scratch? Take a dip in the Lethe? Forget everything, and start anew with you guys?"

That was a _horrible_ idea.

Nico stiffened, and Will drew another rattling breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry." He whispered, and Nico shook his head slightly, stroking over his back again with trembling hands.

"I know. It's okay."

"Nothing is okay! I'm being a selfish asshole!" Will exclaimed frantically, and tried to pull back, but Nico pulled him back.

"Nonsense. You're finally opening up. Keep going."

"Fuck you."

Nico blinked, then raised an eyebrow.

Wow, since when was Will saying that to _him_?

Will seemed to realize the same thing, stiffening up again, before his fingers started tracing patterns on Nico's leg again tentatively.

"Sorry…I didn't mean that."

"I know." Nico replied, and Will huffed, momentarily making him wonder whether he was going to snap at him again.

Instead, Will sighed and slumped again.

"I'm having a bad day today. I'm sorry."

At least he was finally admitting to it.

"It's okay, sole mio. Percy told us about your shitty start to the day, so it's understandable." He reasoned, but that promptly made Will freeze up again.

"What did Percy tell you?" He asked carefully, and Nico wondered what Percy _should_ have told them.

"Only that you woke up early and in an apparently bad mood or something, and that he wants to get the Apollo kids to teach him how to dance so he can impress you, for whatever reasons. Though I don't think I was supposed to tell you that…" He said thoughtfully, and Will snorted, which was quickly followed by a disgusted 'Eww!' and made Nico decide this jacket was going to go in the dirty laundry basket later.

"Hell no, don't let him go to _those kids_. There's a reason _Leah_ had to teach me."

"I'll tell Alec you called him and your other siblings 'those kids', I'm just saying." Nico teased, and Will let out a small chuckle.

"You wouldn't. You love me too much to betray me like that."

Nico smiled, kissing the top of his head.

"I do."

Will fell silent at that, still drawing patterns mindlessly.

"Will?" Nico asked quietly after some time.

"Hm?"

"Can you promise me something?"

Will hesitated for a moment, then shrugged.

"Depends on what it is."

 _Hey_.

What happened to 'I'd do anything for you'? Or the 'I'd never deny you anything'?

That's what a few weeks of dating did to such promises, huh?

Mean.

"Can you give the safewords a try? And…please…use them if necessary. It doesn't matter _why_ you use them, whether it's because whatever we do reminds you of something, or you just don't like it, or you don't feel like it, or…or…or you think they should have kept Pluto as a planet in our solar system, and the thought is too infuriating for you to enjoy yourself. It doesn't matter, okay? What matters is that, the moment you want – or _need_ – us to stop, you'll tell us to, okay? Promise me that."

Will was quiet for another long moment, his fingers now tapping Nico's skin, rather than drawing.

"Will?"

Will let out a long sigh, then nodded.

"Okay. I'll try."

At least that was something.

"But seriously, you're still upset about the Pluto-thing?" Will then teased, and Nico huffed indignantly.

"It's a serious issue! I mean, didn't Greek Mythology teach them _anything_?! I bet they'd never kick _Jupiter_ out, no matter how much that planet _sucks_."

"Ouch. I'm telling Jason that."

Nico nudged his shoulder.

"Shush, you. Also, don't you change the topic, mister. We were talking about an even more important topic, here."

"Yeah? You mean my stupidity?" Will asked derisively, and Nico wished he could flick his forehead for that.

Instead, he flicked the side of his head, which had the same effect.

"No, I mean _you_. Now that we're at it, you might as well let it all out, don't you think?"

Will made a small sound of protest.

"I don't know what you mean! I'm done. We talked it all out, right?"

"I don't know. Did we? You tell me." Nico shot back, and Will grumbled quietly as he rubbed his face against Nico's jacket.

"We should probably look for the guys. They might have gotten lost in the forest." He tried tentatively, but Nico wasn't moved.

"Jason can fly them out. They'll be fine." He replied, and Will seemed to sulk.

Nico sighed.

"You said you're unsure how to talk about things like this." Nico said quietly, trying to give Will a starting point to talk, but Will just nodded.

"Want to talk about it?" Nico asked, and Will huffed.

"I'm serious. I mean, I know how it feels, Will. Or did you forget we've had this conversation before, just with switched rolls, back in the bathroom in the Underworld, when you and Jason told me over and over to 'just do it'?" Nico pointed out, and Will winced slightly.

"That's _different_ , though…"

"It's really not." Nico cut in, and Will slumped.

"Yeah, okay, it's probably not."

Nico felt as if they were making progress, here.

Will let out a deep sigh.

Yep, they were.

"I just…don't want to ruin the mood? Like, when we got into the clearing, I was _thinking_ of saying something, I really was, but…you guys seemed so happy to get away, and everything was so nice and pretty, I didn't want to…well…to ruin that. It's just so…out of nowhere. It always is."

Yeah, Nico had gone through the same way of thinking before, too.

He moved his hands up to Will's hair, stroking through it gently as he leaned his head against his again.

"I'd still prefer to know. Even if it's out of nowhere. It might ruin the mood, but…the mood would already be ruined for you, wouldn't it? We went there so we could _all_ enjoy ourselves, sunshine. If you point out something is wrong, we can try to help, you know? We can go somewhere else until later, or do something crazy. I mean, would you have still been worried about _him_ , if Percy had jumped into the lake? Because he'd have totally done that if only it meant you're feeling better." He explained, and Will snorted again.

Yep, this jacket was most definitely getting washed.

"Probably. But it just…it sucks that it's happening in the first place."

"Doesn't mean we can't try and make the best of it, though." Nico tried, and Will sighed.

"I suppose so."

"Does that mean you'll tell us?" He asked, unable to keep the hint of hopefulness out of his voice.

Will shrugged again.

"I'll try."

Nico kissed the side of his head.

"Thank you."

Will huffed and shook his head.

"Sweetheart, I'm the one who should say thanks, not you. It's me crying, after all."

"Maybe so, but I'm still grateful you're willing to let us know, even if the thought still makes you uncomfortable." He replied gently, and Will moved his arms around him slowly, climbing onto his lap.

"Don't put your hopes up too much. Whatever I do or say, it never seems to last. I already promised Percy a million times I wouldn't bottle things up anymore, and I still do it. I told Jason I'd try to talk things out, and then don't. So, really, you shouldn't expect too much, either."

Nico rolled his eyes and tugged his boyfriend closer.

"Well, at least you're honest about it. Will, just _try_ , okay? Nobody expects you to miraculously change overnight and start talking about everything, always. We're not going to confront you if you don't immediately come out with something. But please try, anyways. We care about you. Same as you care for us." He said softly, and Will gave a small shrug.

Nico gazed at the faraway wall for a moment, waiting for a reply.

Then he thought of something.

"Would you want me to bottle anything up?" He asked, and Will shook his head, now moving his face to the side of Nico's neck.

"Of course not." He whispered, and Nico moved his hands back to Will's back to stroke over it again.

"Would you want me to speak up immediately if something was wrong, or I didn't want something?"

"…Yes." Will admitted meekly, and Nico smiled.

"See? And we want the same. How about, the next time something happens, you don't withdraw, but instead think 'Would I want Nico to talk about this'? Sounds good?" He suggested, patting himself on the shoulder mentally for that splendid idea.

Will huffed, and Nico off-handedly noticed he had stopped crying.

Good.

"Well, that's hardly fair. I want you to talk about everything, Nico-Neek-Neeks."

That _name_!

Nico was going to have to think of something to make him stop calling him that, seriously.

"So do we, sunshine. That's the point." He replied, deciding to let it slide _just this time_.

Will moved his head, now resting his chin on Nico's shoulder, rather than burying his face anymore, and Nico glanced sideways at him.

Then, he moved and reached out to stroke over Will's cheeks, wiping the remnants of his tears away gently.

"Still unfair." Will pouted, and Nico smiled, cupping his face to stroke over his cheeks a while longer.

"Yeah, yeah. So, are you feeling a little better?" He asked, and Will seemed to think about it for a moment.

Then he gave a small nod.

"I do. Thank you, Nico."

Nico shook his head, before leaning forward and giving him a small peck on his reddened nose.

"No need to thank me, sole mio. I'm glad you talked it out with me."

He really was.

Though now he had to wonder whether he was going to have to tell the guys all this, or whether Will was going to do that, himself.

"I didn't want you to know."

Nico took a deep breath, then pecked him on the nose again.

"I know. We have to work on that."

"I don't think I can." Will mumbled, but Nico shook his head resolutely.

"I'm sure you can." He replied, but Will didn't look convinced at all.

Nico gave him a third peck on his nose.

"Would it help if I told you things I don't want you to know? A trading of secrets, in a way?" He asked, though he realized a moment later that was a _bad_ idea.

The things he didn't want the guys to know, were things he didn't want them to know _for a reason_ , after all.

However, Will of course instantly perked up, looking partly skeptical, partly intrigued.

"You have secrets?"

Uh-oh.

Nico thought back to his countless dreams, thought of the things they had done in them, thought of the things he wanted them to do.

Oh gods, this was a serious conversation, about serious things, why did he have to bring _that_ up, exactly?

Swallowing thickly, he looked away for a moment, trying to control himself enough not to blush.

"Uh…no, I…well…erm…uh…not like…I…not _really_ …I mean…what I mean to…erm… _maybe_?"

Needless to say, the moment he glanced back at Will, he found his boyfriend looking at him with a big, dirty grin, even though his eyes were still red and puffy.

Oh gods.

"Oh really? What sort of secrets are we talking about, exactly?"

Okay, this was it, Nico was going to subtly change the topic now.

"Know what, you're absolutely right. We should look for the guys. Who knows, maybe Jason forgot he can fly, or Percy is clinging to a tree, unwilling to leave the ground. Yeah, we should _totally_ look for them." He said hurriedly, and tried to get up, but now, it was _Will_ who was holding _him_ back.

"Aww, didn't you _just_ say we'd share secrets and that _I_ should just go for it and try? Maybe you should take your own advice, sweetheart." His boyfriend cooed, his demeanor obviously _immediately_ doing a one-eighty, and Nico buried his face in his hands with a small whine.

Which was just as bad as holding up a sign that announced 'Awkward bundle ready to combust in shame'.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, he was not having that talk with Will, especially not now, especially when they had just talked about something _serious_.

"You…you…maybe some other time. _Maybe_. It's…nothing you want to know. _Really_." He tried to talk himself out of it, but Will's grin didn't lessen in intensity, nor did he make any move to let Nico go, his arms tightly wrapped around him now.

"Oh really? You know, by the looks and sound of it, this is gonna be something I _absolutely_ want to know. You feel so adorably flustered, Nico-Neek-Neeks."

Nico wanted to wail, but then ended up huffing indignantly at _that name_ again.

"Stop calling me that, you dick. Now, seriously, let's look for the guys…"

"They're outside the door, sitting on the front step. Now, sweetheart, secrets? Come on, you can't just mention that and then backtrack. Tell me at least _one_ , I'm begging you. Curiosity is going to kill me, otherwise." Will whined, but Nico was completely thrown off by the first part.

Wait, the guys were sitting on the front step?

First of all, how did Will know?

Second of all, why hadn't he said anything?

Third of all, why were they there, instead of coming in?

Nico hadn't locked the door or anything, and even if, they had their keys, right?

Nico was confused.

"They came back earlier, but decided to give us some more time to talk. Now, secret?" Will explained, then bat his eyelashes at Nico, who opened and closed his mouth a couple of times without speaking, then he merely shook his head weakly, his face warming, after all.

Damn it.

"N-Not now. It's nothing important, I assure you. Just…small stuff. Not important stuff. Really stupid stuff, even." He mumbled evasively, and Will's eyebrows shot up, though the dirty grin stayed in place.

"Oh yeah? Funny, that's what I tell you guys every single time, too, and nobody ever believes me."

"That's different. In my case, it really _is_ stuff you absolutely don't need to know. Nope. Come on, let's get the guys." He tried to sound composed and absolute, but his voice still came out a tad higher than usual.

"Aww." Will pouted, but finally let him go, and Nico awkwardly patted his shoulder as he made to get out of the bed to fetch his boyfriends.

Way to go.

There he had managed so well to stay calm and composed, and now he was a blushing mess again.

He was never going to offer anything again in his life.

Especially nothing that would end up being this awkward for him.

"You know you can tell me all your dirty little secrets, Nico. Won't judge. Probably be amazed and a little turned on, but that's a given." His boyfriend called after him, and Nico stumbled over his own two feet and nearly crashed into the door.

That guy!

"I…I'll keep it in mind." He stammered, then cleared his throat and reached out to open the door, before he halted again.

"And it's _not_ like that! No 'dirty little secrets'! Get your head out of the gutter!" He then added, but Will merely cackled and winked at him.

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart."

Dork.

Nico firmly turned his back to him, then opened the door.

Somehow, he knew he shouldn't be surprised, but he still had to admit it felt weird to _really_ find Jason and Percy sitting on the stairs in front of their cabin, both of them turning to look at him with a mixture of uncertainty and hope.

"And?" They both asked, and Nico realized they were worried Will still might be upset, while he was freaking out about stupid things like sexual dreams and Will finding out about any of them.

"He's better now. Back to his dorky self, at any rate. We talked it out." He explained, and they both let out relieved sighs as they shot each other small smiles and got up to follow him inside.

"Guys, did you know Nico is keeping secrets from us? And I'm talking _naughty_ secrets!"

Fuck you, Will.

...

"F-…Percy, you have to tell me to _stop_ , damn it!" Nico cursed, and Jason had to exert all his self-control not to snicker.

Percy moaned in reply, making no move to do any of the sort, instead pulling Nico back down for another heated kiss, who started cursing (partly in Italian), but went right along with it, all the same.

"I told you it would escalate." Will smart-assed, looking smug and amused, though Jason knew that would change once he remembered it would be his turn next.

Then again, at this rate, it would never _be_ his turn, because Percy and Nico certainly didn't look like they'd be done anytime soon.

Jason watched as Nico started grinding against Percy, who had his legs wrapped around his boyfriend's waist tightly and had an expression of absolute bliss.

"Never doubted your words, Freckles. _They_ claimed it would be simple and fast, not me." He pointed, out, and Will huffed with a mumbled 'Eh, same difference'.

"Percy, safeword, come on…" Nico nearly pleaded, before dipping his head down to tug on Percy's nipple again, while his humping didn't cease one bit.

"Are you crazy? I've been waiting for this for forever, I'm sure as hell not going to let you stop now!" Percy exclaimed breathlessly, shamelessly grinding back against Nico, and both of them groaned.

 _Well_.

Jason glanced sideways at Will, who looked more turned on than smug now, though the amusement was still evident in his eyes and that smirk that made Jason want to kiss him senseless.

" _By the gods_." Nico groaned, though he didn't pause in his doings, his hands moving down to grab hold of Percy's waistband.

Oh?

Were they actually going to go further?

To be honest, Jason wouldn't be surprised.

Though that was _not_ what this should have been about.

After the drama earlier, he hadn't expected them to really pick up that conversation about safewords again, but then Will had surprised them by being the one to bring it up again.

He had at first tried to cover up his discomfort by laughing and joking, not to mention changing the topic (like the whole thing about 'Nico's secrets', which they still none the wiser about), but that had quickly changed to an honest, sheepish apology and Will acting more ashamed than anything else.

They had done their best to reassure him, while also letting him know _not_ to do that again, and he had replied by wrapping himself around them and just holding onto them for a little while, until they had all calmed down and relaxed again.

In all seriousness, Jason had to admit he hadn't been _upset_ , but absolutely worried (and sort of devastated) when Will had taken off, and a fear had spread through him that had only disappeared when he had broken through the trees and seen Will and Nico at the door to the Hades cabin, showing Will might have _run away_ from them, but also that he had _run home_.

That realization had put him to ease like nothing else probably could have.

When things had calmed down again, and the heat in the bed had become unbearable for that time of the day, Jason had started sorting out their wardrobe for more space, while his guys had stayed on the bed, with the Italian reading, and Percy and Will on the laptop, the four of them just wasting some time with nothing truly productive whatsoever.

Well, except the sorting out of the wardrobe, maybe, because that had seriously been necessary.

(Seriously, whoever had had the idea of turning Nico's wardrobe into _their_ wardrobe had been a crazy fool.)

(Needless to say, it had been Percy's idea.)

(At least it now held all their clothes in a more or less decent way once more, though Jason knew it was only a matter of time before chaos would reign in there once more.)

(Mostly Percy's doing, too.)

But yeah, things had been rather peaceful for a while.

Then Will had suddenly brought the safewords up again, agreeing with Jason that they should probably do a test run, and suddenly, everything had happened all at once.

And now, here they were, with Percy and Nico moments away from having sex, and Will and Jason just sitting there, waiting, watching, whatever.

Maybe he should have been the one to do Percy.

He was pretty certain Percy would have been much more inclined to tell him to stop, than Nico.

Then again, that had also been the reason why Will had said it would make more sense for it to be Nico, because then it would be an actual challenge for Percy.

A challenge he was definitely losing at the moment.

Not that Jason could really blame him.

"Percy, tell me to stop!" Nico hissed urgently, then gasped as Percy tried to frantically shrug his boxer shorts off, while Nico was trying to keep them where they were.

"Never!" Percy exclaimed loudly, sounding and looking more and more frustrated by the moment.

"If you don't tell me to stop, _I'm_ going to safeword!" Nico argued, and Will snickered next to Jason, mumbling a quiet 'Oh, I'd love to see that.', which struck him as pretty mean.

"You wouldn't!" Percy gasped, halting in his movement to stare up at Nico as if he had just stolen his last cookie, a look of utmost betrayal on his slightly flushed face.

Nico stared back, panting heavily and looking at Percy as if he was already imagining them rolling in the sheets.

"Yeah, I probably wouldn't. But you promised you'd make me stop." Nico admitted and sat up, but instead of pulling away from Percy, he grabbed hold of his hips and pulled him back against his groin, making both of them moan again.

Gods, those two.

"I will! Later!" Percy assured him with a frantic nod, now reaching out to tug on Nico's boxer shorts, instead, and Jason decided that it had been a bad idea to do this half-naked.

Maybe they should have put on more clothing, then things might not have escalated like this.

"You mean after we did what we shouldn't be doing because this whole thing is to make you stop me from doing this?" Nico rambled, probably trying to make Percy realize what he was saying and what was happening.

Percy, however, only started nodding wildly.

"Yes! Yes, that! Later, afterwards, gods, Nico, _please_!"

Will shifted next to him, and Jason glanced sideways at him, trying to gauge his reaction to check whether he had to interfere now.

Even though they knew Will hated pleading, he _usually_ didn't have a problem with any of _them_ pleading, as long as it wasn't him.

With everything that had happened today though, he wouldn't be surprised if Will was bothered by it this time.

Will met his gaze with a defiant one of his own, daring him to say anything, but Jason decided to still shoot him a look that _mutely_ asked whether he was okay.

His boyfriend glowered at him darkly in reply, before pointedly turning his head away to watch Percy and Nico again.

Yeah, yeah.

As it turned out, he needn't have worried, because Nico instantly went to rutting back against Percy, more than eager to please him in any and every sort of way, rather than letting him continue begging and pleading.

"Tell me to stop, _idiota_! We don't even have any lube! This is _crazy_!" The Italian exclaimed, his voice high and breathless, and Will snickered again.

Was lube Nico's only concern? That was a problem easily fixed.

Percy seemed to think the same way, because he immediately moved and turned around, stretching to get to their nightstand, while still ever so evidently trying to keep his backside as close to Nico's groin as possible.

Wow, that looked like a pretty good pose, to be honest…

Nico seemed to agree, a soft moan escaping his lips while his eyes were most definitely glued to Percy's still clothed backside.

Percy turned back around, nearly throwing the bottle of lube and a condom into Nico's face, though he luckily missed, and both items landed somewhere to the left of Nico.

Jason watched with raised eyebrows how Nico all but threw himself at Percy all over again, flattening him into the mattress and kissing him with an intensity Jason hadn't quite expected.

Maybe he and Will should leave them alone for a while.

Ever since the four of them had gotten together, both Percy and Nico had tried so hard (and rather obviously) not to get too carried away with each other.

Percy had confided into Jason that he was scared they'd fall back into old patterns, that he'd somehow end up neglecting Will and Jason, that he and Nico would end up being all over each other and around each other much more because that was what they were used to, and what they had become comfortable with.

Jason knew it had been the same way for Nico, even if he hadn't said it out loud.

Neither of them had to worry, of course.

This was new to all four of them, and, while Jason could understand their worries, he also knew that, even if that _had_ been the case, they'd have made it work somehow.

So far, none of them had ever reacted badly to any of the others joining in or being there.

And Jason liked watching Percy and Nico.

He wasn't much into watching, but he was amazed at the ease that was between them when they were making out, the sort of ease that only happened when you knew your partner for a while already and knew what he liked, and didn't have to experiment, nor prove anything.

So, while Percy and Nico had worried about doing _too much_ with each other, Jason had been more concerned they'd not do _anything_ with each other anymore.

It had certainly seemed that way in the beginning, though he hadn't really voiced it out, deciding to wait a while longer.

Looking at them now, that had been the right decision.

The last time they had been all over each other had been when Jason had pulled Nico closer on a whim while he and Percy had been about to have sex, and, while that had certainly been intense, and absolutely amazing to witness, it was _nothing_ compared to this.

Then again, back then, Percy had topped, and had been the one driving Nico crazy, who had still been in a haze of surprise and amazement at suddenly being between them and getting kissed and ravished from both sides.

Now, Nico was doing a splendid job at turning Percy into a wonderful mess.

Gods, Jason loved seeing him fall apart like that.

"Percy, we have to…gods, you can't be serious! This was…supposed…to be…practice…" Nico forced out through clenched teeth as he struggled with himself to either rip off Percy's last piece of clothing, or keep it on with all his might.

Poor guy.

"You know, it's okay if you get carried away. The safewords are meant to be used when we _need_ to stop, they're not meant to be something we have to force." Jason pointed out quietly, but he might have as well been talking to a wall.

They were moaning, they were mumbling, they were kissing frantically with their kisses as messy as Percy's and Jason's usually were, grinding into each other as if there wasn't two layers of clothing between them still, and nothing else seemed to exist for them but their bubble of pleasure and bliss.

Those two.

"If I do it, will we continue this?" Percy rasped breathlessly, sounding desperate and hopeful at the same time.

Jason frowned.

The whole point of the safewords was to _not_ continue.

"But that's what it's all about, cuore mio. You say the word, I stop…" Nico breathed back, sounding encouraging, though his behavior showed how much he did _not_ want to stop.

"Please! Please, Nico, I _know_ , but _please_! I…I _need_ …" Percy started begging.

"Okay! Okay, I promise. Promise." Nico immediately cut in, sounding frantic, desperate to please.

Jason watched with raised eyebrows as both parties succumbed to their passionate kisses and desperate rutting again, their hums of approval once more turning into loud moans and gasps.

Even though they had just come to an agreement (apparently), neither of them made any move to stop, and Jason started frowning.

Maybe he and Will _should_ leave…

Right when he was about to suggest that quietly to Will, because it _definitely_ looked as if they weren't going to call an end to this anytime soon, Percy made a small sound.

Jason's gaze shot back to him immediately, trying to figure out whether something was wrong, whether he needed help, but all he had wanted was for Nico to let their kiss end long enough to speak.

"Red."

The reaction, remarkably enough, was almost immediate.

Nico didn't seem to have really _expected_ it, but that didn't stop him from breaking away from Percy in an instant, blinking hard and opening his mouth to let out a breathless but firm 'Okay'.

Further, he didn't get, because the moment he had sat back up, Percy was already pushing himself up and was all but throwing himself right back at him, crashing their lips back together and making him fall backwards into the sheets, their roles switched.

Nico let out a small gasp and what _almost_ sounded like a complaint, while Percy replied with an impatient, whiny sound that had Nico threading his fingers into Percy's hair and pulling him closer in what almost looked _painful_.

Will chuckled next to him when he caught him wincing.

"No worries, they love it. Seriously, they're so into this, Jason. Tell me, why hasn't this happened before? Nico ravishing Percy?" Will asking amused next to him, and he tore his eyes away from his boyfriends to look at the blonde.

"Honestly? I have no idea."

His best guess was that Nico had been too insecure and feared he'd hurt Percy - or overstep his boundaries.

Both theories were crazy, of course, but Nico _had_ been rather overly cautious in the past, even if he seemed to have gained _a lot_ more confidence the past weeks.

In a way, Jason had a hunch it had something to do with him working on himself to be more open with them, which certainly hadn't gone unnoticed by any of them.

Not to mention the fact that Nico had finally come clean with himself and his affection for all three of them – something which Jason _knew_ their Italian had carried around for quite a while, and which had clearly bothered him greatly throughout his relationship with Percy.

Suddenly, the boys broke apart, looking at each other with wide eyes and blown pupils, their chests rising and falling rapidly.

What?

"Bathroom." Both of them blurted at the same time, then nodded, then they were suddenly out of bed, and Jason blinked in confusion.

"Do the…the boundary thing…the safeword…whatever it's called…do it. With Will. Now. Yes. Percy and I. We'll just. Uh. Shower. Yeah." Nico rambled, stammered, stumbled over his words, and Jason's eyebrows shot up all over again.

But before he could say anything, there was Percy, suddenly leaning back over the bed and towards _him_ , pressing his lips onto his for a split second before breaking away with a euphoric giggle and a rather wild nod.

"Splendid idea. Perfect idea. You two. Do that. Now. Feels… _oh gods_ …"

Will chuckled again, not seeming upset in the slightest that both guys were stumbling off to the bathroom no second later without having given _him_ a kiss, instead already back all over each other.

The last thing they saw before the bathroom door slammed shut (and opened itself again because somebody seemed to hold onto the doorknob for whatever reason), was Percy's boxer shorts hitting the ground.

…Right.

Shower.

Absolutely.

That was definitely _all_ they were doing in there.

Jason huffed out a small laugh, and Will chimed in with an amused snort.

"They're so adorable."

They sure were.

"They could have just continued, though. If they needed privacy, we could have left…?" Jason voiced out his confusion, but Will waved off.

"Nah, they wanted to prove it to themselves and each other they could do it. That they could stay focused on the task and all. Plus, they don't want us _gone_ , Jason. They more don't want to interfere with your original plan, so they're trying to improvise, because Percy is desperate to get laid, and Nico is absolutely awed." His boyfriend explained, and Jason sighed.

Yeah, that did sound like them.

They were both silent for a moment, which allowed them to hear Percy's low chuckling and Nico's moaning.

Seriously…

Will sighed, then made to move, and Jason glanced back at him quizzically.

"So…you want to do this?" His boyfriend asked, and Jason had to admit he was a tiny bit surprised.

Even though Will had been the one to bring the whole safewords-talk up again, and had agreed on giving it a try, Jason knew he had been the most reluctant about this.

He still looked reluctant now, too.

"If you're ready. You know I'm not going to force you." He said quietly, and Will huffed in reply, acting offended, but Jason knew he understood what Jason meant.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not made of glass, you forgot?"

Even so, Jason would rather cut his own hands off than hurt him.

However, he knew saying any of the sort would probably only make Will try to pick a fight with him, so he merely replied with a 'Alright, then let's do it'.

In a way, Jason thought they'd go about this as Percy and Nico had, with them repeating the terms once more (even though they had settled to all just use the colors, to make sure none of them would get confused or forget in a crucial moment), and then slowly moving closer and beginning with a simple peck.

He didn't expect to suddenly find Will moving and climbing onto his lap, legs and arms wrapping around him, and Will's face suddenly _way_ too close.

"Too close?" Will asked, probably feeling just how overwhelmed Jason was beginning to feel, but he shook his head quickly, his own arms moving around the blonde to keep him there.

"No. It's good. So, colors?" He replied, and noticed how _tense_ Will was.

Not to mention that he wasn't quite meeting his eyes.

"Yes, Jason. Colors. As we all agreed on roughly fifty times by now. Red for stop, Yellow for wait or slow down, Green for good." Will said with a hint of exasperation, though his fingers tapped against Jason's back in ill-concealed anxiety.

Well, that certainly made for a bad start to this.

"Just trying to make sure. But you're really alright with this, right?" He just had to ask, okay?

"Yes, Jason. Can we do this now?" Will shot back impatiently, and Jason guessed he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Then again, once they _were_ done with this, Will might actually be able to relax fully again, and who knew, this might actually work and put them at more ease with each other in the long run.

So, yeah, getting this over with might not be such a bad idea.

"Okay. Ready?" Jason asked hesitantly, and Will gave a small nod, shuffling on his lap and not seeming ready whatsoever.

"Absolutely sure?" He asked again, just to make sure.

Will threw him an exasperated look.

Hey, it wasn't as if Jason had no reason to worry!

"Hundred percent. Stop worrying so much. I wouldn't be on your lap right now if I had a problem with it, Jason." Will remarked, and Jason pinched his sides in retaliation.

Truth be told, he wouldn't put it past Will to indeed get onto his lap even if he had a problem with it…

However, he trusted him.

If Will said it was okay, then it was okay.

"Okay. But you're sure you want to stick to the colors, right? You _can_ choose something different, if…"

"I'll stick to the colors, Jason." Will replied immediately, surprisingly enough not fed up with him yet, and both their gazes hushed over to the bathroom door for a moment, the sound of rushing water not quite enough to drown out the moans.

"Just trying to make sure…" He mumbled, and Will's lips twitched again, though the small smile didn't stay.

"You know, I'm starting to think _you're_ not ready." Will remarked, and Jason huffed, giving him a peck on the nose just to tease him.

(It worked, because Will was _so_ expecting a kiss, now blinking at him almost affronted.)

"Nah, just worried I'm forcing you into this from the very beginning on." He said truthfully, and Will made a face.

"Oh shush. As if. I already said it's fine. Have I ever given you the impression I have a problem with your kisses?"

Not really, no.

Then again, they hadn't really said kissing would be all they'd do.

In fact, they hadn't said what they'd do, at all.

(Neither had Nico and Percy, but they had all known beforehand how that would end, if he was being honest.)

Jason sighed, then pecked his boyfriend on the lips.

"Okay. Sorry, you know I worry. A lot."

Will groaned loudly, shifting closer on his lap.

" _Yes_ , I _do_ know. Now, kiss me."

"Okay. But remember to use the-…" He started, but Will proved to have no patience whatsoever, cutting him off mid-sentence by pressing their lips together.

…Not that Jason was really complaining.

He hummed into the kiss, and Will grumbled, though he also pulled him closer and tilted his head more for a better angle.

Mmh, he loved kissing Will.

Jason let their lips mash together, waiting for Will to set the pace, just to have Will pinch his arm and pull back for a moment, glowering at him accusingly.

" _You're_ supposed to be testing _my_ boundaries, you idiot. Not the other way around."

Oops.

"I will. Sorry." Jason replied sheepishly, stroking up and down his boyfriend's back softly to get across he hadn't meant it bad.

Then he leaned closer to press his lips against Will's again, and Will's posture changed from annoyed to amiable in an instant, returning the kiss only all too happily.

He stroked up and down his boyfriend's sides and deepened the kiss cautiously, uncertain when Will would want to call an end to it, but that only got him another pinch to the arm.

Okay, okay.

Jason moved his hands up to the back of Will's head and deepened the kiss _without_ waiting for permission, his tongue licking his way into Will's mouth – and Will promptly rewarded him with a small moan and _a lot_ more eagerness.

Seriously?

Well, if Will _wanted_ him to be a bit reckless, he should have just said so.

Will's hands moved along Jason's arms, then down his side and over his chest, and Jason momentarily expected to be pushed down, the way Will usually did when things turned heated.

But then, he didn't, instead wrapping his arms back around Jason.

Wait, did that mean he wanted _Jason_ to…?

But he didn't _like_ being pushed down, right?

Wait, maybe that was when he'd use the safeword.

Okay.

…Jason didn't like that idea one bit, though.

He didn't want to _intentionally_ do something Will disliked.

"Jason…" Will gasped, his voice more sounding breathless than warning, but Jason got the gist, anyways.

Giving in against his better judgment, he started tipping Will backwards, cautiously at first.

He needn't have worried, though, because his boyfriend had no qualms whatsoever in letting himself fall backwards like a log, pulling Jason right along with him.

 _Oh gods, Will._

"I thought you don't like this?" He whispered against Will's lips when they parted for a moment, giving him another peck on the lips, before kissing his way to his ear.

Will gasped softly beneath him.

"Oh, shush. Let me indulge in 'What if'-s for just one time, will you?" He chided, and Jason blinked, stopping right before reaching Will's ear.

What if-s?

"You know I'd do anything you want me to, right? If you want to try anything-…" He started and pulled back, but Will immediately pinched his arm with a small whine.

"Jason, I _know_. Can we _not_ have this conversation right now, though?"

Jason rolled his eyes to himself, then leaned back over Will to tug on his earlobe, feeling his boyfriend shifting and trembling beneath him and turning his head further so Jason had better access.

"You like that?" He asked unnecessarily, and Will huffed indignantly, before letting out a soft moan.

" _Jason!_ "

Okay, okay.

Jason teased Will's ear a while longer, enjoying the soft sounds he made and the way he kept shifting until he could ever so inconspicuously rub his groin against Jason's thigh.

(Jason at least acted as if he didn't notice, anyways.)

Then, he moved down, along Will's neck, kissing and nibbling and sucking gently on a few spots, though he only left an actual hickey at the crook of his neck, where it could get covered easily later on.

Will moaned, his fingernails digging into Jason's shoulders slightly, but Jason was already used to that by now, so he didn't mind.

He kissed along Will's collarbone, then downwards to his bare chest, his hands stroking appreciatively along Will's sides, loving the sensation of his quickly heating skin.

It was only when he passed Will's nipples – discarding the thought of even attempting anything, since he knew Will didn't like it – that he remembered _why_ they were doing this.

"Will…" He started, but before he could pull back, Will's hands were in his hair and pulled him back down against his skin with a small gasp.

" _Green_! For gods' sake, I'll tell you when you have to stop." Will exclaimed breathlessly, followed by a partly mumbled, partly gasped rant, and Jason pressed his lips back against Will's skin.

Green.

Okay.

Green was good.  
Green meant continue.  
Green meant…wait, they had started this so Will would tell them when to _stop_ , not when to _continue_.

Wait, was this going to end up like Percy and Nico?

… _wait,_ was Will trying to seduce him in order to get out of having to use the safeword?

He _wouldn't_.

Jason halted again, then decided to switch paths, moving closer to Will's nipples, after all.

He trusted Will. He trusted him and his ability to tell Jason to stop.

But Will trusted him, too. Trusted him to _not_ hurt him, to _not_ put past any boundaries, to _not_ do the things he _knew_ Will disliked.

…But Will was letting him continue, making no move to stop him.

Maybe this _was_ going to be the moment he was going to safeword.

Jason's resolve strengthened.

 _Fine_.

As expected, Will stiffened at Jason's change in course, but only for a moment, then he relaxed again, his arms wrapping around Jason's neck.

No safeword.

No 'Red', no 'Stop', nothing.

Oh gods.

"Will…" He said warningly, his lips mere inches from Will's nipple, but Will merely hissed.

"Green. A-Actually…I…Yellow. G- _Gentle_ …please…"

Jason glanced up at him, taking note of his closed eyes and the way he bit his bottom lip, as if uncertain.

Then, those blue eyes opened, fixing on Jason, surprisingly soft and gentle, rather than the chiding Jason had half expected.

"I'll let you know, Jason. I promise. Do you trust me?"

He did.

Jason studied his expression a moment longer, then he nodded and moved back up to give him a gentle, but deep kiss, which had the desired effect of making Will smile softly, the tension once more leaving him.

Then, Jason started ravishing him again, acting as if he didn't know anything, as if this was the first time they got to touch each other; allowing Will to re-set the boundaries and _say_ what he did and didn't like.

They should have done this ages ago.

They really should have.

Jason was very much in love.

...

"Nico…aah…yes, _yes_ …" Percy rasped, his head tipping back automatically and hitting the tiles behind him slightly as he still tried to wrap his mind around what was happening.

It was pretty futile, though, since he still couldn't believe it.

He felt Nico's lips quirking up into a small smile, before they pressed against his own insistently once more, making him moan and see stars as he closed his eyes dazedly.

Gods, how was this happening?

How did he deserve this?

Percy decided he had to be the luckiest guy in the world.

Nico's hands roamed his body still, not on his nipples anymore as he had first been, but Percy didn't mind one bit.

He enjoyed Nico's hands on any patch of his skin, really, and from what he could tell, Nico knew exactly where he liked it the most.

At least he let them stay at his lower back for a suspiciously long time, his fingernails teasing the ever so disturbingly sensitive patch of skin that had been his Achilles heel.

Then, his hands suddenly dropped to Percy's butt, and his heart threatened to leap out of his chest, euphoria and excitement flooding through him.

Oh gods, this was really happening.

Nico, his Nico, his innocent and adorable boyfriend, was anything but innocent and adorable, pushing against him and ravishing him and acting all dominant and _gods_ , Percy was in Elysium right now, he had to be.

The water of the shower surrounded them, staying well away from their skin, and while Percy wasn't quite sure whether _he_ was doing that, he was grateful for it, all the same.

Especially when Nico started dragging his lips down Percy's collarbones to his chest (damn, when had he even _moved away?!_ ) and was quickly moving _lower_.

What wouldn't Percy give to let himself fall right now, to be in a bed, to have Nico on top of him the way he had been earlier?

Gods, that had felt amazing.

So amazing.

He should have known he'd like it, because he was an absolute goner whenever Jason was getting dominant with him, and he had been in enough situations with Nico on top of him before, as well – and, in a way, he _had_ known he'd love it, but…nothing had quite prepared him for how _wonderful_ it had felt, anyways.

He loved this, too.

Were they actually going to…?

Was Nico really going to…?

Percy shivered in anticipation and want, following Nico with his gaze as he kissed his way down Percy's body, his hands still firmly planted on his backside.

So bold.

So wonderful.

Percy moaned softly, and Nico grinned up at him cheekily, knowing full well what he was doing to him.

He was killing him, that was what he was doing.

In the best way possible.

"I love you." He blurted, unable to help it.

He simply had to say _something_ , okay?

And he much rather said that, than the needy ' _Take me!_ ' that kept wanting to escape him ever since Nico had first pushed him down in bed.

Hopefully, Nico would get to that part by himself.

Nico was grinning again, his unfathomably dark eyes twinkling with what almost seemed like mirth for a moment, before he decided to _murder_ Percy by dragging his tongue and teeth over the thin line of hair from Percy's lower stomach up to his navel.

"I know."

Those words, accompanied by _that smirk_ …

Cold-blooded murderer.

Percy gasped, flinched, and groaned, his dick twitching dangerously, even though Nico had had bittersweet mercy on him so far and refrained from touching him, so he most definitely shouldn't be as riled up as he was – nor as close to climaxing.

But he was.

Oh gods, yes, he was.

Way too close.

It was almost scary.

But this was too good to be scared.

Nico's hands were still sort-of-massaging his backside, then he could feel a finger wandering.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, yes.

Oh gods, they were _totally_ going to do this!

Anticipation and excitement bubbled up inside him again, and he gasped softly as Nico's lips pressed against his hip bone, his hair tickling Percy's aching dick, though he'd lie if he claimed he didn't love it.

"You sure you want me to…?" Nico whispered against his skin, and all Percy could do was nod wildly.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, _yes_!

 _Please_!

He opened his mouth to say something, but ended up moaning instead.

Nico smirked up at him again, and Percy's heart fluttered, together with his dick twitching again.

Oh gods, they were going to have sex.

Nico was going to have sex with him.

Yes.

Yes, yes, yes, _yes_!

Nico started mouthing at his hip bone again, one hand leaving his backside to search for the lube that was gods-knew where, while his other hand was still kneading his butt, one finger deciding to be bold.

Percy closed his eyes, shivering and trembling and gasping even before Nico rubbed against his hole tentatively.

Then, Nico _did_ rub against it, the same moment his hair tickled Percy's dick in that _very_ nice way again, and Percy gasped, flinched – and _came_.

The pleasure ripping through him, he let his head tip back as he groaned and jolted slightly, his mind turning blank for the longest moment.

Then, realization hit him in the face, and his eyes snapped open, the same moment Nico let out a startled sound.

Oh no.

No, no, no, no, _no_.

He had not just…

Still in the middle of his climax, Percy urged himself to look down at Nico, who was blinking up at him with big, round eyes, his face-…

Oh gods.

Oh gods, no.

Percy's face exploded into flames even as his dick twitched again, the last string of come smacking Nico against his cheek, making the Italian jump slightly.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, what had Percy _done_?!

He stared down at his boyfriend, his mouth opening and closing stupidly as he took in the sight of his come splattered across Nico's face, over his nose, _in his hair_ …

Oh gods.

Oh gods, Percy was going to _die_.

This was…that…oh gods, this was way too much like something that would happen in _porn_!

 _Not with his Nico_!

A devastated wail escaped his lips and Percy buried his face in his hands in utmost shame and mortification.

 _No!_

Plus, they had been _so close_ to _having sex_ …

 _NO!_

"I am so sorry!" He exclaimed way too loudly, his entire body heating uncomfortably with the mortification of _what had just happened_.

No!

How could this have happened?!

How could he just…

He was supposed to have _more stamina than that_ , gods fucking damn it!

Internally screaming, he wailed again, before chanting 'I'm so sorry' over and over again, wishing for something – _anything_ – that would turn back time a few minutes, _before_ _he had gone and messed this up_!

There was shuffling, then hands gently took hold of his to pry them off his face, but Percy could already feel his eyes pricking with tears of shame, and there was _no way_ he wanted Nico to see that.

"Percy, relax. It's okay. No need to be sorry. If anything, I should be sorry." Nico whispered, and Percy peeked through his fingers, just to see Nico _still_ had his come on his face, and the mortification was right back full force.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, he had _never_ …

That was _so much_ like porn.

 _Too much_.

He had never understood the point in that, anyways (but also sort of had never questioned it much, either), but…to actually…to actually _do_ that…to Nico…to his Nico…

Percy whined again, but Nico merely nudged his hands away, cupped his face and pulled him into a quick kiss.

"I'm sorry, Percy. I shouldn't have teased you so much. It was just my nerves getting the better of me." His boyfriend apologized awkwardly, but Percy shook his head.

"Not your fault. I…I…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…I…" He stammered, redirecting the water to rain down on them once more, albeit very slowly and lightly, unwilling to fuck things up even more.

Nico shot him a small smile, allowing him to wipe away the semi-transparent fluids with his thumbs.

"I am so sorry." He whispered, pretty sure he still had to be beet-red in the face, though he couldn't care less right now, not when he still had to clean Nico's face as best as he could.

"Don't be. I'm not upset, Percy. You merely surprised me." Nico replied, as understanding and wonderful as ever.

"I'm sorry." Percy repeated, anyways.

Nico shook his head and gave him another peck on the lips, before touching his hair were the come was sticking to it, still.

He frowned slightly, but didn't seem to be offended, just unsure as to how to proceed.

"I'm so sorry."

"Shush. No need to be sorry. Next time I won't tease you quite as much, okay?"

Percy wailed quietly again as he realized he had just seriously lost his chance for sex.

Then, he jumped as he realized _he_ had just gotten off without even as much as _touching_ Nico whatsoever.

He looked at Nico with wide, guilty eyes, then down, already contemplating his options, what he could offer, whether his blowjob would be any good right now with him in this sort of state…

But then he realized his help apparently wasn't needed anymore, which was both a relief and a definite reason to worry.

Had Nico climaxed, too?

Or had this been one major turn-off and Percy had royally fucked up in more than just one way?

Nico seemed to read his mind, stroking over his cheek again before tugging him into another quick kiss.

"I came, Percy. You make the most beautiful faces when you're climaxing." His boyfriend explained, and Percy found himself blushing due to feeling flattered, rather than ashamed, which felt a lot better.

"I'm still sorry, Nico. I…I ruined the whole thing…" He mumbled awkwardly, and averted his face again, though his thumbs were back at stroking over Nico's cheeks, hoping he had gotten everything off.

"Nonsense. We enjoyed ourselves, right? At least I know _I_ enjoyed myself just fine. Plus, this way we can actually do it on the bed next time, right? I know I'd much rather have you on a bed…"

The way Nico's voice dropped to an alluring purr made Percy perk up instantly, want shooting through him all over again at his words.

"So you're still interested?" He asked, cringing inwardly at how openly hopeful that sounded, but unable to help himself, anyways.

Nico blinked, seemingly taken aback.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Genuine confusion appeared on his face, and Percy looked down quickly, trying to avoid answering by shrugging vaguely.

Thank the gods.

He had not fucked _everything_ up.

"Let me wash your hair." Percy said quickly, before Nico could ask anything else, and Nico blinked, his hand shooting up to the strand that was still full of Percy's come, even with the water raining down on it repeatedly.

Percy swallowed, trying not to fall back into his chant of apologies, and Nico gave a small nod and turned his back to him to grab the shampoo and let Percy do his thing.

The silence stretched on between them, Percy still battling the mortification that had completely drowned out the afterglow of his orgasm, while Nico seemed to relax in no time, leaning into his touches and even humming softly when Percy started massaging his head gently.

Sperm turned out to be a really weird substance to wash out of hair, so Percy decided to better be safe than sorry and do two runs of shampoo in Nico's hair, but Nico didn't complain or question it (which he was more than grateful for).

Nico also didn't mention it, nor the fact Percy had come in his face without warning, even though both things were still ever so vividly coursing through Percy's mind.

Seriously, so embarrassing.

What would Jason and Will say if they knew…

Oh gods.

Yeah, they definitely weren't allowed to know.

Percy turned to Nico as they turned off the shower and climbed out, wondering if he could ask him ever so subtly not to _ever_ mention this to anybody.

 _Ever_.

His thoughts were cut off by Nico moving up to give him another peck on the lips, though.

"Relax, Percy. What are you even so devastated about? It's not like I was any better when Will and I had our first handjob. Or the first time you gave me a blowjob. I didn't last very long _then_ , did I now? But I can't remember any of you minding that all too much. In fact, I clearly remember _all of you_ rushing to reassure me. Was that just an act?"

Uh-oh.

"No! No, but…"

At least Nico _had_ gotten to the blowjob, the handjob, sex…

While Percy had spilled without even having Nico _finger_ him.

Oh, the shame.

"No buts. You know I'm right. Next time I'll ravish you, just you wait. Plus, I really don't see your problem. I thought it was kind of cute. Now come on, let's get going and check on the guys. Think they are done with the safeword-thing yet?" Nico effortlessly cut in and swooned Percy with his words all over again.

Oh, he could barely wait for next time!

And really? Nico had found it cute?

Okay, that made Percy feel a lot better, actually.

Wait, the guys.

True, would they be done yet?

How long had Nico and he been gone?

Time was a tricky thing when things got this messy, after all.

Percy shrugged and wrapped the towel around his hips, absolutely unwilling to bother with clothes when it was already getting late, anyways, and the two of them shared a last look and a peck on the lips before Nico opened the door.

Percy had half a mind to announce himself, just to make sure they wouldn't startle the guys if they were still in the middle of anything, but the moment he laid eyes on the bed, he knew there was no reason for it.

"Aww, just look at them." Nico whispered, a soft smile on his lips as they moved over to their two boyfriends, who were snuggled together (and still very naked), arms wrapped around each other and legs hopelessly entangled, both with blissful smiles on their faces – and both of them fast asleep.

"They're adorable. I love them." Percy agreed with a smile of his own, reaching out to curl a strand of Will's hair around his finger.

"Me too." Nico chimed in, and the two grinned at each other, before climbing into bed to join them.

It only occurred to him a moment later how much had changed ever since December, when Nico hadn't even been able to admit to having any romantic feelings towards any of them, and how he had then been so cautious and careful with Percy, as if afraid he'd up and leave.

Now, here they were, professing their love for not just each other, but Will and Jason, too.

Percy definitely liked this change.

"Mmh, hey Percy. Had fun?" Will hummed in his sleep, and Percy realized with a jolt he had acted without thinking when he had climbed behind the blonde to wrap his arm around him loosely.

That was something very off-limits.

 _Especially_ since they all were still naked.

Cringing at his own stupidity, Percy tried to very subtly pull back again, but Will didn't seem to get the gist, moving along with him.

"I…yeah. I made a fool of myself by coming prematurely before Nico could even do anything." He blurted, then stared off into space, cursing his existence.

…So much about never ever letting the guys find out about it.

Nico made a small sound that seemed between a gasp and a laugh.

Will chuckled softly, then started shifting and grabbing hold of Percy's arm with surprising insistence, dragging it back over him like a blanket.

Erm…okay…

"Eh, shit happens. Bet he didn't mind one bit though. He was just as nervous as you were." Will mumbled reassuringly, then snuggled into his embrace, and Percy felt his heart flutter.

"I think it was cute." Nico agreed, and shot him an encouraging smile.

"See? There you go."

Yeah, yeah.

"How did things with Jason go?" Percy asked to change the topic, and Jason moved his head at the sound of his name, though he didn't seem to wake.

Will hummed – a low, drawn-out, and rather pleased sounding sound.

"Good. Really, really good."

Percy and Nico exchanged a look, then they both smiled at their boyfriend.

"That's great. Did you try out the safeword thing, then?" Nico asked, and Will hummed again.

"Yeah. It worked out better than expected."

 _Yes!_

Percy looked back at Nico, and found him positively _beaming_ at the news, which obviously made Percy grin widely, as well.

"Awesome! That means we can stick to them?" He asked just to clarify, and Will gave a small nod, before snuggling into his embrace some more.

"Yeah. Now, let's sleep. I'm dead tired…"

"Stop chatting, guys. Go to bed. You need your rest." Jason mumbled as if on cue, and Percy and Nico both grinned at each other, before quickly dropping down into the pillow.

"Yes, mom." Percy teased, and heard Jason huff as if offended.

For a long moment, silence settled over the cabin.

Then…

Percy squeaked, and Jason started cackling quietly.

"Stop squeezing my butt without warning!"

"You know you love it."

"Do not."

"Do too."

" _Not_!"

"You do." All three of his boyfriends agreed, and Percy let out a small, complainant whine.

 _Unfair_.

Sulking, he wrapped his arms tighter around Will and buried his face in his hair, inhaling his scent.

Silence settled over them once more.

"…Yeah, okay. I do."

As reply, three hands moved to his backside, and Percy would be upset if he wasn't busy being so pleased with himself and the world.


	9. Chapter 9: Insecurities

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes :3

Here comes the next chapter~  
(Please forgive me XD)

As info, **I might not be able to make it for next week's update** , as there's quite some stuff going on in my life right now.  
(Also, it's the end of the year, which is always a horrible time for me when it comes to writing, I'm so sorry XD)

On another note, I wanted to ask whether there's anything you guys would really like to read about, since this story is sort of gonna come to an end soon (I'm hoping for at most 16 chapters in total)  
I'm not necessarily taking requests or anything, just curious as to what you'd want to see happening between them before the sequel hits, because that's gonna focus more on the plot and whatnot and less on fluff/smut.

Pretty sure most things will be written about, but if there's something you ask for that originally wouldn't be in here, I might make an additional chapter for that.

Now, about this chapter! It has: **TRIGGER WARNINGS**  
(As I said, please forgive me QAQ)

 **Trigger Warnings:  
** \- **Kyle**  
\- Playing with fears/insecurities/doubts  
\- Helplessness/Despair  
\- Angst  
\- Anxiety  
\- Pain/Torture (mental, not physical)

Thank you so much for reading and for leaving such kind comments/reviews :)

Wish you all the best, and hope you'll enjoy the chapter~  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 09: Insecurities**

Maybe he should be worried.

Nico pondered this for a moment, not stopping in his movement against Will, shamelessly rutting against him as Jason had his arms wrapped around him from behind, doing the same with him.

Yeah, thinking about it, he probably _should_ be worried.

Was this normal?

Nico knew this was a dream.

The edges were too blurry, and things made way too little sense and were way less detailed than how they'd be if this was real.

He knew that.

(It was a shame that he knew, really.)

But seriously, was this normal?

The guys didn't seem to be getting any sex dreams, at least it never sounded like it.

Then again, not _all_ of Nico's dreams were like that.

Just…quite a few.

But, seriously, who could blame him?

There were _so many things_ to try out, so many things he didn't dare ask for just yet, so many things he wasn't even sure would work.

(Though they worked just fine in his dreams.)

Nico knew pondering too much would make him wake up, so he tried to just drop it and focus on what was happening, and on how he pictured it to feel like.

His slowly wakening mind made itself known again a moment later though, when he was suddenly confronted with a situation that made him wonder whether _that_ was possible _at all_.

To add salt to his injury (or rather, his growing frustration with himself for questioning the most amazing things), the moment he decided to just _go along_ with it, he felt something prod his dream.

"Nico."

Oh, damn the Fates!

Nico concentrated on changing everything around him, mourning the loss of his boyfriends' safe embrace, even though it was just a dream and all.

Turning around to face whatever intruder there was in _his_ dream with his darkest scowl possible, he was met with Clovis' nonplussed face.

"Trust me, nothing I haven't seen before." The boy grumbled, and Nico's frustration made way for a wave of embarrassment, along with a rising feeling of _dread_.

"Why are you here? Is something wrong? Is Will…" He asked, not even trying to mask his fear, the last time still way too vivid in his mind.

Clovis' concerned expression didn't put him at ease in any way, either.

"I don't know."

What the…

"What do you _mean_ , you _don't know_?!" Nico asked, agitation now growing as he started for the son of Hypnos, who instinctively took a step back and lifted his arms.

"Hey, it's not my fault! I don't know, he's stuck, man. You know he always leaves when he's meeting his-…when he's having that one dream thing he's having, yeah? Well, usually he comes back right after, and everything is cool. The past weeks I already noticed things seemed a bit funny, but didn't think much of it. Now though…"

Nico held up his hand, silencing him.

"What? What do you _mean_ , he's 'leaving'? Coming back? What the hell, Clovis, are you saying he's dream-walking right out of Camp, or what?"

That was news to him.

Then again, he had a hunch he should have realized that at some point, since Will and Clovis _had_ gotten 'lost' that one time, too.

Still…

"Well, kind of? Not really, but you can call it that for now. Not important. What's important is that something's interfering with his dreams, and-…."

"Is it Kyle?" Nico asked, the dread only intensifying, and he could see their surroundings beginning to crumble as he began to wake.

"I don't _know_ , Nico. I felt him stopping and thought I'd much rather immediately get you than go and check by myself." Clovis hissed in frustration, looking…uneasy.

Nico realized with a pang _why_.

The last time Clovis had gone alone, he had ended up…

Guilt washed over Nico, and he quickly stepped forward with a nod, trying not to look too accusing.

"Okay. Thanks, Clovis. Can you guide me there? I can check on him by myself." He said hurriedly, and caught Clovis letting out the smallest sigh of relief.

"Sure thing."

He grabbed him by the arm, and Nico already knew what to expect, though he still hated the feeling of leaving his own body and travelling through what shouldn't even be possible to travel through.

Remembering the last time he had joined dreams with Will, he tried to brace himself for the worst, though he also didn't _want_ to even _imagine_ the worst.

If Will was somewhere outside Camp, even if it was just a dream, then that meant Kyle could get to him, right?

What if it really _was_ him?

He had proven to be capable of accessing dreams, after all.

How, Nico had no idea.

They knew Kyle wasn't a child of Hypnos, since Clovis had already wreaked havoc at his dad's, apparently, and the god had seemed positively _offended_.

Which was probably a good thing, but all it did was make Nico dread more.

If even gods knew how bad Kyle was, if they _cared enough_ to know how bad Kyle was, then _just how bad was Kyle_?!

"Ah, he's _trying_ to take over. Okay, Nico, you gotta be careful. Can't protect you out here- _Ouch_!" Clovis suddenly broke off with a hiss – and then he was gone, and Nico was momentarily in the middle of nowhere, just floating, though it felt more like falling.

Then, he felt something warm, comforting, _familiar_ , and he instinctively reached out for it, realizing it had to be Will.

It was.

The dream manifested around him like an embrace, accepting him immediately, which made him sigh in relief as he felt grounded once more.

Then, his relief switched back to dread as he blinked and tried to get used to his new surroundings.

A forest.

A field.

A…hole in the ground…?

Frowning, Nico turned around where he stood, trying to recognize where he was, but the place didn't ring a bell.

It looked eerily real though, so it had to be a place Will knew, though Nico couldn't see _how_.

Maybe from his childhood?

There were no houses nearby though, and Will had told him he had never ventured anywhere until the satyr had gotten him to Camp.

Maybe on that journey, then.

Nico put the thought aside for later, instead beginning to move as he looked around, searching for _Will_.

He had to be here somewhere, right?

" _Don't_."

That was Will's voice.

Nico looked around, trying to follow the direction the sound had come from as he moved through the field, away from the weird hole that gave him the creeps for whatever reason.

"Why not? You know I'm right."

And…that was Kyle's voice.

Nico's blood boiled with pure hatred, his head snapping around as he searched with renewed urgency.

 _Kyle_.

In Will's dream.

 _Again_.

Nico couldn't wait until he got the chance to rid the world of that asshole for real.

He moved swiftly through the field, annoyed he seemed corporeal enough to move more or less freely, but not enough to call out for his boyfriend or make his presence known.

But until he knew what was going on, it might be unwise to attempt bending Will's dreams too much.

"You're…not right." Will's voice was shaking, and the doubt in his words was palpable, making Nico cringe inwardly.

What was that bastard doing to his boyfriend?!

"You can't even speak without stuttering. How pathetic. You truly haven't changed, William. Still the same, still ever so weak and pathetic. Just look at you. You grew a bit taller, but that's about it. I really don't see why they bother with you. What good are you?" Kyle's voice was like honey, his words like knives.

Nico could feel an ache in his chest that didn't seem entirely his own, could see the colors around him fading slightly, as if a part of Will was recoiling; and his heart ached even more.

 _Will_.

"Don't listen to him!" Nico tried to call out, but while he could feel the words leaving his mouth, he couldn't hear them, so he doubted anybody else did, either.

 _Where were they_?!

"I…I…"

"Come on, you must have thought of it, too, right? They are children of the Big Three. What are you, compared to that? What good are you to them? Why would they keep you around? They don't need you. Nobody needs you."

Nico bared his teeth and snarled at nothing, still searching, but the voices seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"I…I can heal…" Will whispered, and Nico wanted to cry at the way Will's voice trembled and sounded so, _so_ doubtful.

Oh Will.

Kyle _laughed_.

Nico reached out a hand, momentarily wanting nothing more than to take control and get his sword, get a bow and arrow, get anything, set the whole place on fire, _anything_ , to get Kyle out.

But then he felt the terror Will felt, and the whole place tilted sideways for the longest moment, as if Will was losing his grip.

Nico had no idea what would happen if Will got 'lost' like that, but he didn't want to find out.

"Oh _please_. That bit of glow and show? Very impressive. Nobody else can do that, I assume? Your siblings don't exist? Don't flatter yourself, William. You're just one of many. You know that, same as you know they know that. Or is it my imagination they only let you stick around in the beginning because they pitied you? Come on, don't tell me I'm wrong." Kyle all but cooed, and Nico felt sick just having to hear his voice.

"That…that's not…"

"It is. You forced yourself onto Nico, urged him to spend those days in the infirmary. He never _wanted_ to be your friend. You forced him into it, and he took pity on you and went along. Then the other two boys came along, and you manipulated them to let you stick around. They could have been so happy, William."

Nico was moving again, even though he was now moving up and down instead of left and right, but it didn't matter.

All that mattered was that he found Will.

"I…I would never…"

"Did you really think they would fall in love with you? They are only with you because they feel sorry for you. What can you give them? You are nothing. You can't fight, you can't even stand up for yourself. You can heal, big deal. What can you heal? A little cut? A stubbed toe? Admit it, William, you're nothing. You're less than nothing. You're broken. Broken and worthless. They are your boyfriends, are they not? Don't you just love them so much? Why is it you make everything so difficult for them, then? Do you think they don't know you remember me? That every time they touch you, it's _me_ you think of first?"

Nico snarled again, and the world tipped back to how it had been before.

He kept running, glad to regain at least _some_ sense of direction, but then had to stop dead when he reached the hole again, apparently having run in a circle.

Where _were_ they?!

"I…I don't!" Will insisted weakly, and Nico howled in agony, needing to see him, needing to feel him, needing to _take him away from here_.

Somewhere safe.

Somewhere where he could hold him and keep him safe and sound in his arms and make him forget all those horrible lies.

Kyle laughed again.

"Of course not. Which is why they have to go through so much hassle just to touch you. Oh William, you're so foolish. So childish, so immature, so _selfish_ , thinking they really want you around. I thought you were smarter than that. Then again, I should have known better, shouldn't I? You love to disappoint, after all."

"Shut up!" Nico yelled, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as he felt Will's pain, the misery spreading inside him as he seemed to _agree_ with this nonsense, as he seemed to _accept_ it; and Nico could practically feel Kyle getting _stronger_ , more _present_ in the dream.

No sound left his lips, and his howl of agony and frustration that followed was lost as well.

"You always disappoint. You disappointed me. So many times. You love to mess up, don't you? How much do you think they'll take? They already started mistrusting you, haven't they?"

"N-No…"

"Oh, don't lie to me. You might be able to lie to them, but never to me, William, and you know it. Now, how much longer do you think they'll bother with you? They already seem fed up, don't you think? From what I can see, it surely seems that way. Poor Perseus, having to bother so much, just because you want attention. That you aren't ashamed of yourself."

 _Shut up, shut up, shut up!_

Nico yelled again, trying to bend the dream to his will in a rush of desperation, but he was shoved away from a different, dark and menacing force.

Kyle.

Oh.

 _Oh!_

No.

No, Kyle was _not_ taking over Will's dream.

Never.

Nico wouldn't let him!

"But Jason is already realizing, isn't he? You can see it, can't you? He's getting tired of you, William. He expected more of you. He thought you'd be stronger. Poor guy. I feel so sorry for him. Then again, he should have known better. _You_ should have known better."

Will stayed quiet.

Nico turned around and started running again, though he wasn't sure where he was going.

"You're nothing but trouble. No looks, no abilities, just work. You do nothing but take. You take their patience, take their kindness, and you give nothing back. Instead, you feel sorry for yourself, and demand more. More attention, more of those fake feelings of 'love' that you keep telling yourself and them that you can feel. But you can't feel them, can you now? That's what scares you. They don't love you. They never have. It's all just you, trying to run away from me. Trying to keep yourself safe. So selfish. So stupid. So useless."

Nico called out for Clovis, for help, for somebody or something to help him find Will, to somehow help Will, to do _anything_.

What good was he here if he couldn't even find his boyfriend?

What good was he if-…

Where were those thoughts coming from?

Nico didn't need to doubt his own worth.

Not here. Not now.

All he had to do was focus.

 _Focus_.

Nico stopped dead in the middle of the field, trying not to look everywhere at once, but to find one point to concentrate on, to ground himself, to _focus_.

Will was crying quietly.

The sound was heartbreaking, but Nico forced himself to stay where he was, trying to get a feel of the place, trying to map it out inside his head and pinpoint where his Will was.

"Oh, but you know what the best part is? You actually like them. It's so hilarious. They feel so sorry for you they act the part, hoping to somehow feel the same way for you eventually, when you and I both know they can't. Who could like you? Who could _love_ you? Your own dad doesn't give a damn about you, and your mother never truly cared, else she'd have stuck around, wouldn't she? You know full well she cared more for work and her relationships than she ever cared for you. In all honesty, I think I'm the first and only person who ever cared for you, William."

Nico's concentration wavered as white hot anger flashed through him, the dream flickering momentarily as he tried to seize control and destroy that bastard.

But then Will wailed softly and Nico recoiled, the urge to comfort too big to ignore.

"You know it's true, William. You know what we had. You know how happy you were. _I_ made you happy. Don't tell me you don't remember."

Nico squeezed his eyes shut.

Focus, focus, _focus_!

Will was depending on him, damn it!

Nico had sworn he'd protect him, that he'd be there for him; he had to help him! _Now_!

Will mumbled something, and Kyle laughed.

A cruel, cold laugh.

"I hurt you? Oh, but little one, you know you deserved it. You were ungrateful. I did so much for you, yet what did you do in return? Nothing. You ruined so much, William. And yes, I punished you, but deep inside, you know I was right to do so, and that you deserved worse than that."

Was this what Will had had to go through in the past?

Was this the reason why his Will was so insecure, was doubting himself at every turn?

Was this why he was so scared?

All because of Kyle?

Because Kyle was playing with his fears and feeding his insecurities with filthy lies?

Nico wanted him dead.

 _No wonder Will liked praise._

He must have never fucking heard a single good thing out of that guy's mouth.

He might not have even heard a single compliment in years.

And even if he had, he might not have believed it.

Nico let the tears spill down his face and felt a tug in his gut as he cried out for help again.

"But even if they humor you and stick around, it's going to fall apart soon enough. How much longer do you think you can lie to them? How much longer do you think you'll be able to act the part? Oh, they'll be so upset when they find out, little one. You know, don't you?"

"You…you don't know anything…" Will whispered, and his voice seemed so close, yet so far away.

Nico started forward again, feeling unnaturally small in this wide and open space, but he ignored it.

"I know more than you could ever imagine, William. You think you're safe in that Camp of yours, with those boyfriends of yours, but you'll lose it all. _They_ will lose it all. You know, you could have prevented this by coming with me, but you just had to be stubborn. Just know that their blood will be on your hands, little one. All the shed blood will be on your hands. All your friends, all your little campers, they will all fall, and it will be because of you."

For a moment, Kyle's voice became as cold and menacing as his words.

But then, he seemed all soft and sweet again.

"You could have prevented all of this. You still could, if only you finally saw reason. How many more times will we have to meet like this, before you stop forcing yourself to forget as you wake? Just give in, little one. You know I'm right. You know you can't make them happy. You never could. You could never make anybody happy. Let it go, William. Come join me. I will take good care of you, same as I have in the past. I will make you feel so good again. And they will finally be able to be happy together, without worrying about you all the while. Without having to watch their every step. Without having to deal with your attention seeking and all the problems you make up just to get them to pity you a while longer. Because you know they will leave once they realize you're nothing. You know you're nothing. We all know you're nothing. _Come with me, William_."

Nico cried out, yelling his curses to the black sky above them.

No!

Lies!

LIES!

NOTHING BUT LIES!

"Will! Will don't listen to him, I love you, we love you, please, sole mio, LISTEN TO ME!" Nico yelled into the void, back at the hole again, but this time, he spotted them, he spotted Kyle, he spotted Will, on the other side of the hole, Will on the ground weeping, Kyle in front of him with his hand out, as if he thought Will would take it.

No.

Nico cried for help again as he started forward blindly, uncaring where he was stepping as long as he could _get there_.

The ground shook as he neared the hole.

The darkness became palpable.

Somebody yelled inside his mind.

Kyle's eyes fixed on him, hatred blazing in them, but Nico hated him _more_.

He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly, the scene around them shifted, and they both froze where they were, gazes snapping around to Will.

Will, who was still on the ground, arms wrapped around himself as he rocked back and forth like a madman.

"No. You're…you're wrong. They…they love me. I'm not nothing. I'm…I'm doing the best I can, and that's good enough. My siblings depend on me. My healing is not perfect, but I'm working on it, and I'll never stop until I'm good enough to make a difference. I…I will not give up. I will not give in. Not to you. I will not let you take them from me. They are…they are so much more than you could ever aspire to be. _Leave_." Will said, not lifting his head and not stopping in his rocking, but he still said those words, said them loud and clear, for everyone to hear.

Oh Will…

"You fool." Kyle replied coldly, looking down at Will with a stony expression, and Nico snarled.

Before he could do anything, though, and before Kyle could say anything else, the ground started cracking open all of a sudden, and the scene around them manifested to something dark, but…strangely familiar…?

"You heard him. Leave." A new voice said, and Nico stumbled in pure _shock_.

"YOU?! The gods have no business meddling with mortal-…" Kyle snarled in disbelief and outrage, and for the first time in his life, Nico saw him _blanching_.

For good reason, though.

"Out." His father replied coldly, and the next moment, Kyle was thrown back and dissolved into black shards, and all the tension left Nico as he felt Kyle's hold on Will's dream disappearing.

"D-Dad? What are you…?" Nico asked bewildered, looking at Hades, at _his own father_ , standing next to them, in the middle of…whatever place of the Underworld this was, _in Will's dream_.

Hades merely shrugged and nodded towards Will, who had curled up on the ground.

"Your sun boy guided you here. I might not be able to interfere the way I'd like to sometimes, but I can very well ban people from my realm if I feel like it, as I've told you during dinner once. Your boy was smart to remember that."

Nico stared at him, still dumbfounded.

Then he heard Will's choked sob and jumped, immediately rushing to his side.

"Will!"

"You should teach him how to close his mind. If you want an old man's advice, teach _all_ the kids how to. It might come in handy later." His father said quietly, and Nico was as confused as ever, though he merely nodded and pulled Will off the ground and into his arms.

"Will! Will, breathe, it's okay. You're alright now." He whispered, stroking through his hair with shaky fingers.

When he looked up at his dad again, he was gone.

What…?

"This…this is one fucked up dream…" Will sobbed, and Nico tugged him closer, wrapping his arms tightly around him as he rocked him back and forth gently, his face pressing against the side of his neck.

"Shh, it's okay. It's over now. You did so well, Will." He whispered, and Will rubbed his face against Nico's shirt.

"You think so?"

"I know so. You're amazing, Will. So amazing. So brave. Much braver than I could have ever been in that situation. You did so well. You fought back so bravely."

"I…I didn't know what to do…"

"You did great, Will. So great. So smart. Gods, _Will_." He held him tightly as he tried to get a hold of himself.

It was futile, though.

"You're in such disarray, Nico. Are you okay?" Will asked worriedly against his chest, and Nico couldn't help but let out a choked chuckle, battling his own tears.

"Don't you worry about me, sunshine. Gods, you're so wonderful, Will. Always so caring and kind. _Too_ caring and kind. How could he ever…oh Will, I love you so much. _We_ love you so much." He rambled, pulling away from Will so he could look at him, and Will gazed up at him with teary eyes full of doubt and hope.

Nico wordlessly pulled him closer again, needing to feel him, even if they were still inside his dream.

It didn't matter where they were; as long as he had Will, everything was okay.

"I love you, too." Will whispered back, and Nico choked back a small sob.

There were so many things he had to say, but all he did was chant 'You're so amazing' and similar variations, over and over again.

He should be apologizing for invading his dream and then failing to help him at all.

He should get them back to Camp safe and sound, if they weren't already.

(Who knew where they were?)

He should have them wake up so he could hold his boyfriend the way he should.

"Does that mean I can get a kiss from my hero, now?" Will asked softly, and Nico stopped his rocking to glance down at Will in question.

"Your…what?" He asked perplexed, wondering how he was supposed to tell his dad to get back inside Will's dream.

Not to mention…why was Hades Will's _hero_? This was the first time he heard about that.

Wait, Will wanted to _kiss his dad_?!

Okay, _that_ was weird.

Nico's head was spinning, trying to make sense of what was happening right now, though it was still too busy getting over all that had come before this.

Will's lips twitched slightly, and the color rose in his cheeks.

"Well, I clearly remember you saving me inside a 'dream' before, and when we were about to kiss, you bailed on me. Now that we're dating, though…could I? Kiss you?"

 _Oh_.

"You kiss me all the time, Will." Nico deadpanned automatically, then cursed himself inwardly for saying anything at all.

He tried to cover up by leaning down to press their lips together, but Will was already snorting and turning his head to bury his face back at his chest, so that…didn't work out at all.

However, his chin bumping into Will's head led to Will looking up just as Nico made a face that definitely conveyed he regretted all his life's decisions right about now, and the next moment, Will tried to kiss _him_ , when _he_ was the one turning away.

They both huffed in both irritation and amusement, then Will cupped his face.

"Hold still, you stupidly hot Italian."

Rude.

Nico held still, anyways, and their lips met in a soft, chaste kiss, both of them still smirking.

"That didn't count. Stop smiling." Will argued and leaned in again, and Nico didn't argue.

They didn't stop smiling.

"I love you, Will. We love you." He repeated softly, needing to say it, needing Will to hear it.

He knew that Will knew, but he needed him to know it more than that, to have it be something that came naturally, without doubt.

He needed Will to _know_ they loved him.

So that, if anybody ever asked him 'Hey, do those guys love you?', his 'Yes.' would be immediate, the first thing that came to mind, because that's how it was.

They loved him.

They loved him so, so much.

"You're so pretty, Will. _So pretty_. Your hair is so soft and curly, I love how curly it can get when you let it grow a bit." He rambled, and Will kissed him again as Nico moved his fingers through his hair automatically.

"You…You always smell so nice, too. Like summer. Like…like the promise of a warm summer day." He whispered, and Will chuckled softly.

"You hate summer, Nico. Always too warm and too much sun."

Nico shook his head stubbornly and chased his lips as Will pulled away slightly.

"Not like that. I don't like the _heat_. I like _summer_ just fine. It reminds me of you, after all."

Will sucked in a small breath, then smiled again.

"Damn, Nico, hold your horses. I don't know how to handle so many sweet words at once."

"Percy can hold my horses. I'm never going to stop, Will. Let me profess my love for you." Nico retorted, pressing their lips together again.

And again.

And once more, just because he could.

Then he decided he didn't feel like stopping, so he continued.

Will chuckled against his lips, then cupped his face to draw them closer together, and Nico happily obliged.

"I'll have to thank your dad later." Will mumbled as they started moving, with Will leaving his lap so Nico could climb onto his, instead.

"Please don't kiss him." Nico replied dazedly, already back at kissing Will.

Will momentarily pulled back, looking at him with a bewildered, nearly incredulous look on his face, and Nico snorted out a small laugh before dragging him back into another kiss.

They _probably_ shouldn't be doing this inside a dream, but…well…

"You're so wonderful, Will. People never seem to see just how special you are. People definitely don't tell you enough times just how special you are. _I_ don't tell you enough times just how special you are." He breathed between kisses, even when they started picking up in intensity, and Will shivered each and every time he spoke.

Which was, as Nico found out, a good thing.

So he continued.

"I love you so much, Will. Don't you ever doubt that. I love you, and I'm gonna keep loving you, and I'm gonna do my best to become stronger so I can protect you, same as I'm going to protect the guys." He whispered, and Will huffed quietly, pushing Nico down onto the ground, which had turned into a bed.

Their bed.

Were they back, then?

Who knew?

Who cared?

"We're going to protect each other, Will. All four of us. We'll do the fighting, and you'll patch us up, because you're amazing like that." He rambled, and Will smiled sadly at him for a moment, before sealing their lips again.

"And we very much need you. Who's gonna keep us alive if not you? Who's gonna make life worth living if not for you and your crazy but endearing ideas and games and your super embarrassing but kind of dorky Truth or Dare games?"

Will breathed out a small laugh and buried his face at the side of his neck for a moment, before placing a series of kisses along his skin there.

" _I_ need you, too. You make everything brighter, lighter, you sometimes even literally brighten the room. And I love you so much, Will. I love your smiles, your blushes, the way your freckles glow, the way you move. I love the way you hold me, the way you kiss me, the way you touch me, the way you always know exactly what to say or do to make me weak in the knees…"

"Gods, Nico, I…shouldn't _I_ be the one wooing _you_ , here?" Will interrupted, looking at him with dilated pupils and his cheeks flushed so _wonderfully_ , his freckles glowing once more and filling Nico with the longing to trace them with his fingers, his lips, everything he had, everything he ever would be.

Which made no sense.

He didn't care.

"You already had me wooed when you looked at me with those astonishingly blue eyes of yours, sole mio." He replied breathlessly, and Will's blush deepened, before he flashed him a smile and brought their lips together once more.

From there, they both knew things were going down, their kisses turning from soft and deep to passionate and flat-out _desperate_.

Closer.

Nico needed to get _closer_.

Will seemed to agree, because he let himself drop on top of Nico, and he immediately wrapped his legs around him, moaning as their bodies rubbed together.

" _Nico_ …" Will breathed like a prayer, and Nico's lips twitched before he let out another needy moan.

"Can we…can we continue this…outside your dream…?" He asked, unable to help it.

But he had to _feel_ Will.

For real.

 _Now_.

"Anytime, Nico. Gods, yes. Of course." Will breathed against his neck as he trailed kisses down to his collarbone, then moved lower.

"Now. I need… _now_ …" Nico gasped, feeling a momentary surge of embarrassment, but that disappeared when Will sucked in a sharp breath and looked up at him with realization dawning on that pretty face.

"Now?" Will asked, sounding dazed and disbelieving.

Nico nodded vigorously.

" _Now_."

Will made a small sound, then leaned down to suck on Nico's nipple, and he had no idea how dying in another person's dream felt, but he was pretty sure he would know in a moment.

"Is…is that okay with you…?" He forced himself to asked as he arched his back into Will's touch more, and his blonde made that small sound again.

" _Yes_! Yes. I…we're talking about…"

"Sex. You. Inside me. Now." Nico blurted, and Will moaned softly on top of him, his hands everywhere at once.

"Fuck, Nico, _yes_."

Nico sighed in relief.

"Yes, please."

Will gasped softly against his skin, then he nipped on Nico's nipple again.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

" _Okay!_ "

They shot each other a look that conveyed they knew they were both dorks, then Will shot him a giddy smile, and Nico met it with one of his own, before their lips met once more.

"We just wake up and…?" Will asked, and Nico nodded.

"That's the plan."

It was strange.

Usually, Will was the straight-forward one, and they were the ones following.

Nico didn't mind this one bit, though.

"Okay." Will whispered, and Nico rolled his eyes, before leaning forward and tugging on his earlobe.

"Get going, sunshine."

"You first." Will insisted.

"Forget it."

"Hey, you're in my dream here."

"And I'll be right back in here if I find you sleeping when I wake up." Nico declared, and his boyfriend had the audacity to wiggle his eyebrows at him.

"That eager to get laid?"

Oh, he had no idea.

Nico kissed the corners of his lips.

" _Very_. Now, see you in a minute?"

Will blinked and his blush deepened, obviously not having expected Nico to admit to it.

Well, he better got used to that, because Nico was absolutely _done_ with denying anything when it came to Will.

Or his boyfriends, in general.

"Make that thirty seconds. I love you." Will blurted and pulled him into a last kiss.

Nico felt the tug that announced Will was waking, and he pulled back into his own self once more, glad to find they really had to be back in their cabin.

And then, they woke up.

...

Will wasn't sure how all of that had really just happened, but that didn't stop him from turning around, climbing over Jason as if on auto-pilot, and grabbing hold of Nico, who was only just opening his eyes when their lips met again.

Nico moaned, and the sound reverberated in the room, making him hyper aware _this was real_.

They moved together the same way they had in his dream, just that, ironically, they were much less dressed now.

Nico wrapped his legs around his waist with his feet crossed behind him, and Will realized with a very audible moan that Nico was _wonderfully_ naked.

Okay, that was undoubtedly _the_ best thing _ever_.

Will's hands moved down Nico's sides wantonly, down, down, until he cupped his butt and drew short, excited gasps from his boyfriend.

Was he moving too quickly?

Should they do more foreplay?

They hadn't really _had_ foreplay but for those countless kisses and Nico's words that were still echoing inside Will, as if intent on healing him from the inside out.

(He liked that thought.)

There were no words exchanged as he kissed down Nico's neck, copying the path he had taken earlier, inside his dream.

Nico moaned and threw his head back, his hands shooting up to grab Will's hair and push him further down towards his nipples, definitely knowing just what he wanted.

Which was more than fine by Will.

He sucked, he teased, he let his hands roam and explore and play, and Nico pulled him in, his eyes already screaming sex in case Will hadn't been able to feel the want and need rolling off his boyfriend.

When their gazes met and Nico mutely seemed to ask 'Ready?' Will could only nod, then Nico's hand moved under the pillow, pulling out a condom he must have hidden there at some point.

Or maybe Percy and/or Jason had, it didn't matter.

Dazed, but utterly unwilling to let go of Nico, Will nudged Percy, who had the indecency to first grumble and smack his lips, taking forever to crack one eye open to look at them – and by then, Will was all over Nico once more, the need inside him too big to resist.

After that, Percy was remarkably quick in realizing what they wanted, and with a mumbled 'Gotcha', their boyfriend turned around and rummaged through the drawer, fishing out the bottle of lube and passing it over to them, before mumbling a soft 'Have fun, babe' in their general direction and turning away to go back to sleep once more.

"Fresh cloths are under the sink." Jason put in drowsily from their other side, and Will decided he had the best boyfriends in the world.

Nico's smile told him he agreed.

He shot Nico a last, questioning look, and Nico replied by taking the lube from him and rolling the condom down his leaking dick, quickly followed by those delicate, long fingers lubing him up in the quickest, yet best way possible.

Will shivered and moaned, trying half-heartedly to keep his noises down a bit for the guys, but he already knew it would be a losing battle.

And that was _before_ Nico adjusted his position and pulled him closer and let Will guide his dick inside him.

This was so fast, so rushed.

But somehow, it was perfect in its own way.

They both groaned as he pushed inside slightly, and Nico let out a jumbled mess of Italian, before he threw his head back with a needy whine as he thrust back against Will – and all thoughts and doubts were discarded and forgotten immediately.

 _Oh gods_.

Will groaned and felt his arms shaking as he tried to keep holding himself up on top of Nico, trying to find some sort of rhythm, some sort of _control_.

But Nico wasn't having any of it.

The moment he seemed to notice Will's arms shaking, his own were wrapped around Will's neck and he pulled him down, his legs back around his waist, _pulling him in_ , and Will felt the pleasure rip through both of them.

 _Fuck_.

"I love you." He panted against the shell of Nico's ear, and Nico rewarded him with the sweetest sounds as Will started thrusting into him, feeling that blissful heat engulf him.

"I love you more." Nico whispered, but Will was pretty sure that was impossible.

He didn't argue, though, instead moving into his boyfriend.

Gasps turned to moans which turned to small cries of pleasure as they found their own rhythm, and Will adjusted his angle to make it easier on Nico's spine, which had the Italian moaning loudly and clutching the sheets, so that was a win-win moment he was proud of.

"I love you, I love you, I love you." Will chanted like a prayer, and Nico's fingers dug into his shoulders, his heels pushing into the small of Will's back as he tried to get him closer, his moans the most wonderful sounds in the world.

Will smiled to himself as he thrust into him, his pace becoming quicker and more erratic the closer he got to his climax, and Nico let out the sweetest Italian exclamations that Will hoped he'd never forget.

His hand found Nico's dick and he tried to time his strokes, but he was too fast and unfocused to stick to it.

Nico didn't seem to care whatsoever, rendered to a moaning and gasping mess beneath him that he loved more than he could ever put into words.

"I'm close!" Will gasped in warning, cursing the fact it was the middle of the night, but Nico immediately nodded, his hips thrusting upwards to meet Will's thrusts.

"Yes. Please. Gods, yes, _Will_. Right…right there… _oh_ …" Nico gasped and Will knew just what movement he meant, rolling his hips again to give his boyfriend all he wanted, all Will had.

Nico let out a drawn-out moan, his body arching off the bed for a moment but for his head; and feeling him pressing against Will like that, feeling him experiencing this pleasure and bliss, _knowing_ it was because of Will, because of _this_ , had Will's hips moving and his mind short-circuit automatically.

He gasped, he groaned, he cried out.

Loudly.

Then he clutched Nico as much as he could and _came_ , his orgasm rolling over him before he could even fully comprehend it.

He didn't know _when_ Nico came, but he could feel his climax mingling with his own, the sensation enough to cause a series of shivers to run down his back as he collapsed entirely on top of his boyfriend, feeling his arms wrap around him almost immediately.

Fuck.

Fuck, that had been _good_.

More than good.

 _Amazing_.

Will lifted his head weakly, staring down at that miracle that was his boyfriend, and Nico met his gaze with a gentle one of his own, the sweetest smile on his lips.

"You beautiful soul. Blessed be the day I met you. Your smile makes my day." He blurted before he even knew what he was saying, and the corners of Nico's eyes crinkled as his smile turned into a small grin.

"Was that a _Haiku_?"

Will shrugged, not wanting to bother with counting syllables right now, and not even _wanting_ to know.

Instead, he leaned down and captured his boyfriend's lips in a soft kiss, humming when Nico smirked into the kiss.

"I love you, Will." Nico breathed out when they parted, and Will took another moment to relish in the sensations before he bothered opening his eyes.

Then, he gazed down at his boyfriend with all the love he felt for him.

"I love you more." He whispered back, because _that_ was the truth.

Nico chuckled softly, but didn't fight him, and they found themselves rubbing their cheeks together, as if nuzzling against each other.

It felt great, so Will didn't care whether it was weird or unusual, instead relishing in the closeness for another long moment.

"I don't want to get up." He then announced, and his boyfriend huffed out a small laugh, his eyes gleaming brighter than any stars Will had ever seen.

He was beautiful.

"You'll have to. At least to dispose of the condom."

He was also cruel.

There was movement, then Percy turned around again, blinking his eyes open groggily as he held out their box of tissues and made grabby hands in the air, more than evidently willing to take over most of their necessary 'clean-up'.

Will beamed at him with a smile that undoubtedly yelled 'I just got laid!' along with 'You are the most amazing creature in this world, I will love and cherish you forever'.

Oh gods, Will loved his boyfriends.

...

Hades was never going to listen to his wife again.

He gazed at the bundle of limbs that were his son and boyfriends, wondering how they could sleep when it was _clearly_ bright enough outside to be considered morning, at the very least.

Why weren't they awake and moving about?

They had had enough time to sleep, in his opinion.

Plus, didn't he at least deserve a thanks?

He had not been foolish enough to expect it earlier, when he had been in the sun boy's dream to ban _that guy_ ; but now that he had given them some time to recover, he _had_ assumed they would at the very least _finally_ tell him the great news.

(Which weren't even 'news' anymore, not that Hades was upset about that or anything.)

(Disappointed, maybe.)

(A little bit.)

There was movement in the bed, and he watched how the Jackson kid started moving over to his son, wrapping his arms around him with a low hum even though Nico didn't seem pleased with the sudden closeness – or warmth.

As long as they kept that blanket over themselves, Hades didn't care.

He stepped towards the bed, half expecting the Jackson kid to wake up.

It wasn't his favorite option, but he _did_ like the thought of scaring the kid, and if just to teach him not to let his guard down this much.

Drooling in his sleep.

A mighty warrior this was.

Hades wasn't impressed.

This boy was supposed to support and protect his son, how was he going to do that when he just let _anybody_ come into the cabin unannounced?

Sleep was no excuse for that.

Definitely not.

Hades noticed the sun boy shifting more and more, and his focus shifted to the blonde, watching him turning his head about, a deep frown on his face.

What was his problem?

Hades found watching humans both fascinating and extremely boring.

Mostly boring, though.

Who had the time and patience, really?

He was tempted to clear his throat, but then, the sun boy already blinked open his eyes, his gaze immediately setting on Hades, as if sensing him.

Very good.

He was getting better at this.

As much as he liked to disagree with his wife, he knew she might just be right in saying this kid could be the answer to their problems.

" _Nope_!" The sun boy suddenly exclaimed, and Hades' eyebrow shot up as he watched the blonde head moving, the boy apparently all but throwing himself over Jason Grace and hiding behind him.

Hades took it all back.

What a coward.

And this was supposed to be his son's suitor?

He wasn't having any of it.

Plus, what manners were this?

No 'thank you for saving me from certain doom'?

Or at the very least a warm welcome?

This _was_ his cabin, after all, shouldn't he be welcomed into it?

Somebody understand these humans.

Hades rolled his eyes, and watched both the Jackson kid and Jason Grace jolt awake, their reactions as different as night and day.

Jackson took one look at him and let out a loud and distressed sound that sounded a lot like 'Uwah! Fuck shit _fuck_!' (which didn't sound like anything nice, and Hades was going to interpret it as insult just because he could), before rolling over Nico and past Grace to hide at the sun boy's chest.

( _Coward_.)

Jason Grace, however, had automatically sat up and reached for his side, where his weapon would usually be, seeming alert and sensible.

The gesture was useless, of course, since he didn't have his sword at the ready, but at least it was better than scrambling away, and the boy remained where he was, shielding his boyfriends like a proper warrior should.

 _There_.

 _That_ was why this kid was his favorite.

Jason studied him for a moment, then he surprised Hades by turning around and tapping Nico on the shoulder, no urgency in his movements.

"Nico. Nico, wake up. Your father is here."

There. Once more, this was why he was his favorite.

Now, if only they at the very least bothered to greet him.

With more than an ever so eloquent 'Uwah'.

Whatever that meant.

"Good morning, boys." He decided to set an example, and was met with Jackson's wary gaze, Will's guilty one, and Jason's calm and stoic one.

"Good morning. We apologize for the mess, but we weren't expecting anybody. Is everything okay? I hope you didn't have to wait for too long." Jason spoke quietly, but firmly, and Hades realized he had the same expression he had used a long time in the Underworld, as well, at least in the beginning.

Interesting.

"I didn't. The cabin does not concern me. All I came here for was to speak about last night's matters with my son." Well, more or less, anyways.

The sun boy recoiled, shrinking behind his boyfriend, and Hades was amused to find the Jackson kid finally regaining his wits as he made himself bigger, now covering the blonde.

As if that really protected him.

Nothing could protect him from what was to happen but he, himself.

Hades knew it was too early for that realization yet, though, so he didn't bother pointing it out.

Finally, his son woke up, looking groggy and absolutely unhappy to face the day, which seemed contradictive to Persephone's claims that Nico was 'more than happy' with his 'new' boyfriends.

" _Dad_? What are you doing here?" Nico asked confused, and Hades frowned.

Once more, no warm welcome.

There he had done so much for them, and not even a kind hello.

Kids these days.

"Good morning, son. I have come to speak of last night's matters." He repeated patiently, and Nico's face twisted into a scowl for a moment, eyes hushing over to Jason and Percy, before settling on the sun boy, still hiding behind Jackson.

Then, his son leaned over to look at one of those dumb alarm clocks Hades despised so much – just to groan and let himself fall back into bed to hide his head under the pillow.

Hades was pretty sure he had done something wrong.

Whatever it was, it was Persephone's fault.

" _Dad_! _It's barely 6am in the morning_! Couldn't this have waited until eight? I barely slept last night!" His son's voice sounded through the room, muffled by the pillow, but still clear enough to show the irritation.

Hades watched Jason putting a hand on Nico's shoulder and leaning down to whisper something Hades decided not to attempt hearing, while Jackson and the sun boy looked as if they expected their demise the next five minutes.

There Hades had let them spend so much time in his realm and do as they pleased, and they still seemed scared of him.

What had he done wrong?

He had done it all.

He had redecorated Nico's room to make it warm and welcoming.

He had invited Nico _and his friends_ (now _boy_ friends, though _nobody_ bothered announcing it to him!) plenty of times, as kind as welcoming as he could have managed.

He had done all in his power to make sure they would be taken care of down there with all their mortal needs like food and drink and entertainment.

He had endured his more than just exhausting mother-in-law for a prolonged amount of time to allow his wife to spend some time with Nico _and his friends_ as well.

He had done his best to hint at their 'relationship' by referring to them as 'boyfriends', which should have done the trick perfectly fine, no matter what his wife said.

Plus, he had _still_ given the Jackson kid plenty enough hints with his little chat!

Oh, and they shouldn't even get him started on _the Jackson kid_.

He had _dealt_ with _that Jackson kid_ , which should deserve some sort of 'trophy' by itself already, he was certain.

He had done his best to be warm and welcoming to those three boys, even though one of them was said Jackson kid that he'd much rather incinerate just because; one was the son of the Roman counterpart of his much loathed brother – and murderer of Nico's mother, but he was above blaming children for the crimes of their parents, and decided not to mention it – and the third was the sun boy, the key to their future or demise, in all his nightmare-having-glory.

Had anybody ever bothered to ask just _how much work_ it had been to put sufficient protection on Nico's room to give the kids a break?

That had been _a lot_ of work, okay?

Not to mention he still got in trouble because of it, and he didn't even want to know what _she'd_ do once she found out he had interfered with the course of things, _again_.

Persephone had already had to suffer for her doings; though, as tough as she was, she never mentioned the strain, even if he could very well see it.

Punishment for immortals like them was different, after all.

Well, at least _she_ wouldn't be able to take things to Olympus, so he knew the consequences wouldn't be all that big.

He had had very plausible reasons, after all.

That kid had entered his realm without permission, it was perfectly in his right to kick him out, even if it was just inside the dream realm.

Plus, what was punishment, when the end of the world as they knew it was upon them soon enough, anyways?

Wow, what a depressing realization to have before '8am' in the morning.

"Dad, can't you come back later? I haven't talked to Percy and Jason yet. They don't know." Nico grumbled, and Hades made a face.

He was _getting kicked out_?!

This was it.

He was _definitely_ never listening to his wife again.

"Know what? What happened?" Jason asked with a hint of unease in his voice, while Jackson frowned.

"You mean when you and Will had sex? Come on, what's so bad about-…"

And _that_ was why Hades hated that kid.

Nico slammed his pillow into the boy's face, and Hades gave a satisfied nod as he heard him wail and fall back into the sun boy's arms, who was quickly turning an unhealthy shade of red, the markings on his face beginning to glow.

Ugh, Apollo's offspring.

He was never going to understand.

"I do not care for such trivialities. Though I suppose this _would_ be your chance to _finally_ point out the change in your relationship."

Hm, he hadn't meant to point that out.

Hades crossed his arms in front him with an indifferent expression.

Well, he was glad he had.

It was amusing to see the varying degrees of confusion and horror wash over their faces.

Then, all boys turned towards Nico, who looked as if he had been punched in the face.

"I thought you told him!"

Even though that they were so tired and it was oh so early, they sure could be loud.

"It escaped my mind! I thought he already knew, anyways! It's not like he's _not_ a god who can see everything and whatnot! Plus, I thought I mentioned it at lunch at some point! How was I supposed to know he wanted me to personally contact him or whatever?!" His son hissed at his boyfriends, and Hades contemplated once more what he had done wrong to deserve such treatment.

There the boys were, falling over each other to get away from him, scared out of their minds.

Then there was Jason Grace, who seemed intent on keeping him placated and treated him with overly distanced respect.

And then there was his own son, talking about him in third person where he could still clearly hear it, and acting like it wasn't in his right to visit his own cabin whenever he pleased.

There was more hissing and whispering and muttering, the four of them putting their heads together.

Mostly, it was Jason and Jackson talking, and Nico arguing.

The sun boy stayed out of it, looking guilty again.

Oh please.

Hades didn't need his thanks _that_ badly.

Maybe he should say something to put his mind at ease.

Persephone always claimed he was horrible at that, but what did she know?

"I was surprised to see you were strong enough to sustain three outside forces inside one dream. Quite impressive." He said, which was _high praise_ , alright?

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be the right thing to say, because the sun boy flinched and gave a small, despairing whine, cowering behind Jackson, whose head snapped around so fast Hades was almost disappointed it didn't snap.

"You _what_?!"

Again, so loud.

" _Three_?" Jason asked, immediately zoning in on _that_.

Hm, maybe Hades should have let his son explain, first.

Nico threw him a wild look that yelled the same thing.

Yeah, he probably should have.

"Clovis said…Will ended up being…my dad…ugh, guys, I was going to explain it to you, but _not at 6am in the morning_!"

"So you're one of the three? And your dad is the second? Do I _want_ to know who the third was?" Jason asked, expression turning stony, and the sun boy started cowering behind Jackson even more.

"You really don't." Nico replied, and that was answer enough.

"Bathroom."

"Now."

Jackson and Jason exclaimed simultaneously, and Hades' eyebrow shot up.

"I don't…" The sun boy put in hesitantly, looking torn and uncomfortable, and Hades felt a pang of…sympathy?

"Yes, Nico, take your _boyfriends_ to the bathroom for your conversation. The sun boy and I will chat in the meantime." He announced, and all heads snapped around to him again.

 _But_ the sun boy seemed a tiny bit relieved for a fleeting moment, so he must have done the right thing for once.

"Will is my boyfriend, too. And he has a name, dad."

Yeah? That's why he called him sun boy?

His son's face said he wouldn't appreciate that reply, and Hades sighed.

 _Kids these days_.

"Okay, let's-…dad, can you turn around? I don't want to say anything, but we're _naked_."

Oh.

Oh, that.

Hades very begrudgingly turned his back to them.

"I am aware. Persephone sends her regards, by the way. She said she's disappointed you didn't let _her_ know _either_ , especially after all she's done to help you on your way, but we wouldn't want to make you feel guilty, would we now?" He stated quietly, already knowing he'd get in trouble for that once she found out he had said that.

And she _would_ find out.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think you'd actually _care_ enough! You told us plenty enough times how busy you were with taking care of the Underworld and whatnot, you think I'm going to call to tell you who I'm dating? It's not like I'm _pregnant_ or anything, dad!" His son argued, as feisty as ever.

He was just like his mother.

Hades shot the Jackson kid a look over his shoulder, and was met with a flushed face.

Yeah, he was very well aware his son wouldn't end up pregnant.

"This would be a horrible time for a child, son. I do hope you wait with your family planning until you have settled down somewhere less dangerous, and with no apocalypse knocking on the door." He deadpanned, and heard Jackson sucking in a sharp breath, while Nico seemed to stumble where he was marching off to the bathroom.

"Dad! What-…no…that's not… _ugh_! We'll be right back! Be nice to Will!"

A door slammed shut, and Hades sighed.

What? There he was being a responsible father, trying to give his son sound advice, and in return he was yelled at?

Was this one of those 'teenager phases' Persephone had told him about?

He had thought they were already past that.

Did these last into adulthood?

Why was parenting so difficult?

"Um…" _Will_ 's voice sounded behind him, and Hades glanced over his shoulder at the boy, seeing him sitting on the bed with that ridiculous blanket wrapped around him.

"Thank you. For…erm…your help. Last night." The boy mumbled, not meeting his eyes, and Hades guessed he could act at least _a little_ less imposing.

At least he wasn't wearing his robe, but normal clothing.

Persephone had claimed it was more appropriate for whatever reason, and he was beginning to think she might have been right.

"You're welcome. It was a smart move to guide them into my realm." He replied, trying to, once more, give praise where praise was due.

He had _wanted_ to help, hearing his son's pleas and knowing of the sun boy's pain, so the moment Will had nudged them right into his hands had been more than welcome, albeit he was still surprised.

"It…I didn't really know what I was doing. I don't even know _how_ I did it, to be honest. I just…I was just trying to get help…"

The boy said that as if it was a bad thing.

"And help you received. I have already spoken to Nico about teaching you how to close your mind. Take him up on those lessons. It will help you to ward off such attacks." He said, and found the sun boy much more willing to accept his advice.

At least he nodded in reply.

Though he still wasn't meeting his gaze.

"Nico…would have told you. About us dating. He was just very…well, _distracted_. It is all very new to us, and we were so euphoric we forgot to really think about anything else."

Hm. Well, he could see why this boy was his wife's favorite.

"I am aware." He replied quietly.

They _had_ known that, after all.

The boy opened his mouth as if to say more, but then he grimaced, instead, and the next moment, Hades could hear a loud and devastated "He did _WHAT_?!" sounding from the bathroom.

That Jackson kid.

Hades looked back at the sun boy, and found him drawing together further and further, clearly uncomfortable.

Maybe Hades should have brought his wife.

She'd have known what to do.

"So. You're dating my son." He said, trying to make conversation.

Will's head snapped up, his eyes big and round.

What?

What had he done wrong this time?

"I…I am. I plan to take good care of him, don't worry. I…I may not be able to actually _protect_ him or anything, but I swear I'm going to do my best to keep him happy and…and heal him? You don't have to worry, I'm not going to hurt him, anything but!"

Hades hesitated, waiting until the boy had finished his rambling.

Oh, he was expecting 'the talk'.

Well, Hades could do that, too.

He hadn't planned on it, at least not _right now_ (he was still trying to be a good father, after all, so he did intend to have that chat with the suitors of his son at some point), but if the boy wanted to, sure.

"I would hope so. Though, to ease your mind, he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He is no damsel in distress, and should not be treated as such. As it is, however…" He started, trying to settle on what words to use.

Time was a tricky matter with mortals, and while he had taken a liking to some words that were apparently considered 'outdated' by now, he didn't want to embarrass his son by sounding like an 'old geezer' as his wife had put it.

For someone who never actually went to mingle with mortals, she sure knew a lot about their customs and habits and speech.

"He might require your help in the future. It has not escaped my notice he still seems unable to use his abilities to their full extent. In fact, I have not felt him call upon the shadows willingly for months." He said at long last, and Will's face contorted into another grimace.

"That is…he wasn't ready, yet."

Hades was aware.

He had felt the shadows consuming his son before, after all.

But Nico was ready now.

His body was capable of sustaining the strain, and he was trained and powerful enough to manage just fine.

This was a problem in his mind, not his body, powers or abilities.

"When will he be, then?" He asked, and the boy looked uncomfortable once more, if not conflicted.

The range of emotions on a human's face truly was impressive.

One tilted their eyebrow the slightest way and their expression suddenly meant something entirely different.

"Is it important?"

"Very." Hades replied immediately.

It was. If Nico wasn't capable of using his powers before…

Hades didn't even want to finish that thought.

Why always his children?

"Well, I can try to…well, _practice_ with him, but I'm not sure whether that will truly be of any help. We are quite busy with training and the rescue missions to get everybody safely back to Camp, so I don't think it's a smart move to exhaust him too greatly. Controlling the shadows is not only tiring to his body, but his mind as well, after all."

The boy was too attached.

He didn't see the whole picture.

"If Nico does not learn how to control the shadows, they will consume him later. He can deal with the exhaustion now, he is not weak. I understand – and as a father, appreciate – your concern for my son's wellbeing, but it will be a futile concern if my son fades due to over-exertion in a crucial moment."

"I will not let that happen." Will cut in, his voice firm, his eyes blazing, and Hades stilled, studying the boy in front of him.

He saw it, then.

A snippet of what was to come, more vivid than the things he usually got to see as a god.

Oh, those poor boys…

"Very well." He replied, and Will seemed slightly surprised that he wasn't arguing or putting him in his place.

Why would he?

They would see soon enough.

All Hades could do now was wait and watch.

In this regard, his hands were tied.

However…

"A word of advice." He spoke again, his voice cautious, his focus leaving the boy for a moment to feel for anybody listening in.

But they were all busy.

It had already started, after all.

Nobody knew Hades was here right now, but for the Fates, and they were busy getting wasted in his throne room and simultaneously laughing and crying about what was to come.

And, well, his poor wife who had to make do with them and keep them placated.

"Fate is a tricky business, boy. I know about your visions, I have known for a long time. Usually, a vision is what _can_ happen, but doesn't _have_ to. Yours are similar. They are the _most likely_ outcome, given your decisions leading up to that moment. However…" He spoke quickly, and found Will staring at him, panic washing over his features for a moment, before they were replaced with a blank look of acceptance and defeat.

Poor boy, had already accepted everything so easily.

"It is not yet absolute. You still have the chance to change your future, and the future of those around you." Hades said, feeling the telltale tug that one of the sisters had noticed something.

"I'd rather not." Will replied, making Hades' eyebrows shoot up in an undoubtedly rather humane manner.

The boy averted his gaze.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'd rather have _this_ happen, then force _them_ into any more danger than they already will be."

Oh, what a foolish boy.

His heroics would be for naught.

Did he _not_ realize he had to be alive to bring an end to this?

"I would. If I were you. Your nemesis is trying to take you from them for a reason, boy. Without you, the world will fall."

His chest clenched, and he knew the sisters were having a hell of a time getting their warning across.

Then, it loosened, and he was glad his wife was a genius that could draw any attention to herself if she just wanted to.

She was wonderful like that.

The sun boy looked doubtful, still, but he did not open his mouth to utter any petty excuses or the worries that Hades could see weighing him down.

It was a shame, that he had to be Apollo's offspring.

The god was trying, of course, but it was evident he wasn't doing enough to protect his kids right now, not with everything that was happening.

Hades would feel bad for him, if it wasn't for the fact he and Apollo had never actually gotten along, and the kid was even more disrespectful than the Jackson kid.

At least the Jackson kid hadn't clapped him on the shoulder at their first meeting after a few millennia with something as impudent as his 'What's up buttercup? Been getting off on judging souls, I presume?'.

Ugh, such disrespect from a boy who couldn't even tie his shoelaces properly.

Yeah, okay, if he _had to choose_ between Apollo and that Jackson kid as suitor for his only son, he would definitely pick the Jackson kid.

Though he wasn't going to tell him that.

Ever.

He had a reputation to uphold, and he was already looking forward to telling their child about all of Jackson's misdeeds.

That was, if Nico remembered to inform him of _that_ , whenever that time came.

…Then again, that time would never come, if _this boy here_ didn't realize his own worth sometime soon.

But Hades had already done enough.

The rest was for them to figure out.

The silence stretched on between them, but Hades wasn't very bothered by it, used to craving this silence when he was stuck in his throne room listening to the undead whining about trivialities all day and night.

Just as he considered leaving, the bathroom door was torn open, and he watched the Jackson kid rushing out, ignoring him entirely in favor of throwing himself onto the bed and at Will, flattening him into the mattress with a string of curses flying from his lips.

The poor kid didn't even know what was happening.

Jason Grace followed a moment later, acknowledging Hades with a look and a nod, before he gave an apologetic smile and moved to join Jackson and Will in bed, wrapping himself around them both.

His son was the last to come out, looking exhausted.

Hm, maybe Hades _should_ have come at a later time.

He'd have to tell Persephone they didn't like to be disturbed before 8am.

Or maybe he'd give those Iris messages a try, even though he knew neither the goddess nor her quirky assistant liked being anywhere near the Underworld and would _much rather not_.

His wife had suggested 'something along the lines of a Tupperware party', but he neither knew what that was, nor felt like it was anything he wanted to see in his realm anytime soon.

"Thank you. For last night. I…wouldn't have been able to help him by myself." Nico said quietly, stopping in front of him, and Hades was proud his son did look a lot healthier than he had before.

He definitely had put on some weight and gained a healthy amount of muscles since he had decided to stay at the Camp.

His skin was also looking a lot more like his mother's now.

Though Hades would still greatly prefer if his own child was wearing more than just a pair of oddly colored short shorts.

It was already bad enough to see the Jackson kid in one of those with weird fish on it, but his own son, too?

Oh well, whatever.

Humans and their habits.

"You're welcome, son. Do the lessons I have told you about. They will help."

"I will. And…I'm sorry. For not contacting you before."

If they were alone, Hades would attempt reaching out and clapping him on the shoulder, having seen that gesture in one of those horrible shows Persephone and her mother sometimes attempted to watch, and saying something like 'It's okay, son. I understand.'.

But they weren't alone, and his son had never struck him as the sort of person to enjoy a great deal of physical contact.

Except when it came from one of _those guys_ , but, well, Hades guessed he _could_ understand that.

"Will has already explained you were busy." He said, instead, and Nico glanced towards his boyfriend for a moment, who was still buried under Jackson and Jason, a hushed conversation taking place that Hades didn't bother overhearing.

It wasn't meant for his ears, and he was above such things as eavesdropping.

"Did he now?"

"Oh yes, we've had quite the heart-to-heart." Hades explained, proud when his son seemed positively surprised, the corners of his lips twitching.

"Oh really? Well, he certainly looks in a better state than Percy did after your 'heart-to-heart' with _him_."

Maybe Hades shouldn't have been quite as blunt with the Jackson kid back then.

Nico didn't seem to let that go anytime soon, and this had to be the third time he mentioned it in that odd, sort of displeased tone of his.

"That was because that boy is infuriating and oblivious."

"Hey." The Jackson kid piped up, sounding offended.

Hades shot him a sour look.

So he _was_ listening.

"Yeah, well, but he's my boyfriend, dad. All three of them are." Nico pointed out, and Hades smiled at his son warmly.

 _Finally_.

"I'm glad. Congratulations, son."

For a moment, there was silence in the room, and he watched Nico's eyes widen in surprise, before a broad smile spread on his face.

There it was.

Yes, Persephone was right.

Nico _was_ happy.

"Thanks, dad."

Hades felt like he had _finally_ done something right when it came to Nico.

Alright, maybe his wife wasn't _completely_ wrong sometimes.

...

"Hey Freckles." Jason announced his presence as he moved to wrap his arms around Will from behind, and his boyfriend hummed in response, leaning back into the touch immediately.

"Hey there. You know you don't have to pick me up, right?"

He did.

But he enjoyed doing it, anyways.

Jason made a noncommittal sound and gave him a small kiss to the top of his head.

"Is it okay if I stay here? Or should I wait outside?" He asked, since the answer changed every time he entered the infirmary, depending on the number of patients and the patients itself.

It seemed rather quiet right now, but that might also just be because all the rooms were closed and they were in Will's small, sacred room that he kept banning Alec from.

"You can stay. Man, this was a surprisingly exhausting day. We didn't even have that much to do, but somehow, the moment we were done with one thing, another came up, and just…yeah…" Will mumbled absent-mindedly as he sorted through some files before putting them in a folder and snapping it shut, and Jason stroked over his sides.

Yes, it surely had been an exhausting day.

Then again, with the way it had started, that had been a given…

Gods, Jason still couldn't believe _Kyle_ had gotten to Will inside his dream…again…

And Jason had done nothing.

 _Nothing_.

He hadn't even known.

Hadn't even _noticed_.

In a way, he had _known_ something was weird when he had momentarily woken up to find Will and Nico all over each other, but he had sort of just brushed it off as them getting too touchy-feely in their sleep and waking up horny or whatever.

Jason knew how that felt, after all, what with Percy being the way he was.

Sure, it had struck him as unusual for _Will and Nico_ to be the same way, but he hadn't seriously expected _something like that_ to be the reason behind it.

In a way, he still couldn't quite believe their reaction to finding _Kyle_ _tormenting Will in his dreams_ , had been to have wild and rushed sex in the middle of the night, but he wasn't going to judge them, especially since they had slept rather peacefully for the rest of the night after that.

But…still…

 _How many times_ had Kyle done that?

Nico had made it sound as if it had been a recurring thing, even if he had claimed this had been the first time he had tried to come and help.

What if that was why Will had been so on edge lately?

Nico had explained that it had sounded as if Will had somehow 'made himself forget', so Jason knew he couldn't be upset that he hadn't told them about it, but that didn't make him any less sour about knowing Will had rather forced himself to forget than to talk it out with them and let them help somehow…

Then again, even if he had known, Jason probably couldn't have helped.

Why was that?

Why was Nico able to help, and Jason wasn't?

Nico had been the only one capable of fighting Kyle and his control back that one day, too.

Jason wanted to learn that, too.

No, he _had_ to learn that.

They still had to think about how they were going to do the thing with the lessons.

Nico had said he'd have to talk with Chiron first, at least regarding the other campers, but Jason was more set on getting him to teach the three of them, first.

That way, they might be able to help with teaching the other kids, and the process might be a bit smoother.

However, it was still unclear _how_ Nico would even teach them, so there was still a lot to discuss and figure out before anybody could teach or learn anything.

"What are you thinking about?" Will asked quietly, his hands moving about as he grabbed files and folders and moved them around, sorted papers, ripped something apart and threw it away, stored things away in cupboards or anywhere in the shelf – while all the while not stepping away from Jason or leaving his embrace, seeming to practically soak up his proximity.

It made Jason tug him closer instinctively, his hold on him protective.

Nico had told them.

About what he had heard Kyle say.

Not all of it, Jason was certain, but enough to make Jason's skin crawl.

His reaction was nothing compared to the way Percy had tried to run from the room to apparently single-handedly look for Kyle and murder him, of course, but Jason was disturbed by just how much hatred and anger he could feel for this one person.

It felt like poison inside his body; the urge to protect, to hurt, to kill, all of that crawling under his skin like some nasty insect, itching to get out.

He didn't like it.

It didn't feel like himself, and after Kyle taking control of him once, the mere inclination of something not-him inside him unnerved him to no end.

He had thought he had been able to leave that behind when the eidolon had been kicked out of his body thanks to Piper, but apparently, Kyle had brought it all back up.

 _Kyle_.

Gods, the name alone already made Jason want to rip something apart.

He dropped his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.

Not Will, though.

Never Will.

Will, he wanted to treasure and protect.

 _His Will._

"Just…everything." He replied quietly, feeling tired, even though, as Will had said, the day had been rather calm.

Then again, he hadn't been the one assaulted in his dreams.

He hadn't been the one travelling around to other people's dreams to try and help.

In a way, he had no right to feel tired, but that didn't make it any less real, so he decided not to think about it too much.

"I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know. I know I felt upset when I woke up the past days, but I figured it was just a normal nightmare or vision. If I had known, I'd…I'd have told you…" Will mumbled, and Jason shook his head, his heart aching when he felt Will's shoulders slump and his demeanor turning guilty.

"I know you would have. We're not upset with you, Will. And there's nothing _you_ have to apologize for. Now, is there anything I can help you with?"

He didn't _want_ to change the topic, but he could feel Will shifting, and knew it was his way of expressing his discomfort and unease.

After all that had happened this morning, the last thing he wanted to do was add to it by making Will even more uncomfortable.

"Not really. I'm just trying to tidy up a bit to make space for the next load. My idea of changing the report template is actually working out surprisingly well. The only downside is that it requires a lot more paperwork than the old one did. Wish we could have at least one computer here. It would make everything so much _easier_. But Kayla and Austin already talked to Chiron about asking Leo for some help, and Chiron made it obvious that wasn't going to happen. Seriously, Leo has been talking about building monster-proof, undetectable _smartphones_ for all the campers, but Chiron is still set against a computer that could save us _so much work_?" His boyfriend ranted, now moving out of his hold to climb onto a small stool to reach the higher parts of the shelf, even though Jason could have easily helped him with that.

He didn't point it out, though, instead listening to Will's rambling as he went on about Leo's new plans.

"I take it he came by today?"

"Oh yes, he did. I thought you knew? He said he'd go looking for you later because of the A/C? Don't tell me he forgot." Will mumbled, looking at him with a small frown.

He looked so exhausted.

Restless, but exhausted.

"Guess he must have missed me. Maybe he met with Nico. Percy and I were giving lessons in the arena, again."

The fighting had felt so good.

Percy had needed it, too, judging by the way he had hacked away at him.

Not that Jason was one to talk, going all out on his boyfriend and glad all over again that they were so well attuned to each other to know they could take it.

"Sounds like fun. Is he feeling better about the parting, now?" Will asked, once more rummaging through papers and putting them in the most various places.

Jason was sort of glad he didn't have to know how this place was organized, because he was pretty sure he'd mess up hopelessly and cause much more work for everybody in here.

"I think so? He'd still greatly prefer if Chiron finally let him and Nico work together again, but he seems fine with teaching whenever I'm around." He said with a shrug.

Will had told him about his growing concern with Percy, but Jason wasn't sure what to really do about it.

Whenever he was around, Percy seemed just fine, after all; but Will still seemed wary, and if Jason knew anything, then it was that Will as even better a doctor than he sometimes bragged, so he trusted his judgment.

It was one of the reasons why Jason tried to be around Percy as much as he could and help him with the training.

(The other reasons mostly revolved around him being able to sneak in some kisses and touches, and, well, he simply liked spending time with his boyfriend, okay?)

"Well, that's good, then. Maybe he just needs more time." Will said quietly, though Jason could still detect the hint of hesitation in both his voice and movement.

So he was still doubtful.

Which meant he could still sense something seemed amiss.

"How would I know if it's getting worse?" Jason asked, hoping he'd at least be able to prevent _that_ from happening, if he wasn't able to help anything else.

"I don't know. On a whim, I'd say he'd stop being as talkative as usual, and probably stop eating, or at least getting picky about his food. He might withdraw, keep to himself more, and become more irritable than usual. He'd probably move around in his sleep a lot and be more restless than usual. Things like that." Will muttered absent-mindedly, his fingers leafing through a pile of papers and tugging out two yellow ones, which he filed away in another folder before putting it up to the others.

Jason frowned.

That…was surprisingly detailed, for something that Will 'didn't know'.

"That sounds pretty bad. Are you sure he's okay at the moment?"

It certainly didn't sound like it.

"Yeah, for now, he's good. I think it's all just getting a bit much for him, you know? You need to consider that he never wanted any of this, Jason. He keeps telling us he never wanted to be a hero, and I can feel he's beginning to really resent it. He likes teaching, but right now, he's only doing it because he has to, and I think it's beginning to really get to him."

How could Will just tell him that so easily, while also claiming Percy was fine?

 _That_ did _not_ sound fine.

"Should I try and talk to Chiron again, then?" He asked, but Will shook his head.

"Been there, done that. Chiron believes Percy is just being difficult, and my input that I'm his doctor and know best was brushed aside as me being biased."

Jason bristled automatically, but Will put his finger on his lips before he could speak, even though his boyfriend wasn't even looking at him.

"Don't. He's just as stressed as we all are, Jason. Chiron knows what I'm trying to do. If I were to get through with it, he knows the consequences. It's just, right now, he's hoping things won't get worse and we make it through whatever is coming our way. After that, I'm sure he'll agree."

Jason frowned, giving Will's finger a small kiss, which caused his boyfriend to blink and glance at him for a moment, before he pulled his hand away again with a small smile, focusing back on his work.

"What _are_ you trying to do, then?" Jason asked curiously.

This was the first time Will said anything like that, after all, and this was about their boyfriend, so Jason definitely wanted to know.

Will turned to look at him, seeming surprised he didn't already know.

"Well, I'm trying to get Percy out of everything, of course."

Jason blinked.

What…?

"He doesn't want to fight, Jason. He never wanted to. He only did it because he had to, and because he knows he's good at it. It's expected of him, same as it's expected from you. But he _hates_ it. At this rate, it's going to gnaw at him until he'll snap, and _I_ don't want to see that going down. Chiron is playing a game against time. It's just, I know he's going to lose."

Jason felt the by now familiar rush of unease, and he studied his boyfriend's face, unable to comprehend how he could say _that_ , while also looking so perfectly calm and composed.

He knew this was Will's field of expertise, this was what he had to deal with next to all the wounds and banged up kids, but…

It still struck him.

"What makes you so sure?" He asked, not liking the finality in Will's voice, as if he knew exactly _what_ would happen.

Will had mentioned 'visions' before, too.

He kept mentioning them, actually, in moments he seemed absent-minded and unfocused, making Jason more and more uneasy, but he kept refraining from prying, wanting so, so bad to give Will the chance to tell them whenever he was ready.

Maybe it was also simply something he _couldn't_ talk about, like how Annabeth had once explained to him that the Oracle – Rachel, he believed she was called – wasn't able to speak about all the things she saw.

But even then, maybe he should simply tell them something along the lines of 'Yes, I'm getting visions, but I can't talk about them', instead of the word 'visions' dropped in passing in the middle of a different conversation.

It would definitely put him at _some_ ease, at least.

His boyfriend shrugged, putting the last things away before clapping his hands together.

"Just a hunch. Now, dinner? I'm starving. Don't worry, Jason. He's doing fine at the moment. Just try stick around for a while so he makes it through the lessons in one piece, alright?" He said with a broad grin on his face, and his hand patting Jason's shoulder.

But all that did was make Jason even more certain Will knew more than he let on, especially because of that smile, and even more so because Will _never_ patted him like that.

However, both of these things showed him Will wouldn't say another word on the matter right now, so he only sighed and gave a small nod.

"If you say so, Will."

"I know so. You know I'm always right. Though I love being proven wrong." Will insisted, and Jason frowned slightly at the last part.

That was the first time he heard that.

Jason took Will's hand and let his boyfriend lead him out of the infirmary even though Jason had come to pick _him_ up, not the other way around, but Jason didn't mind.

They bid their goodbyes to the few kids they spotted outside the rooms, and the moment they set foot outside, Jason could already spot Nico and Percy chatting animatedly a few feet away; Nico gesturing wildly, and Percy laughing and nodding and holding his stomach.

"I'll prove you wrong, then." He said quietly.

It was his job to keep his loved ones safe, after all, right?

He couldn't help Nico with his powers, and he couldn't help Will with his dreams, but there had to be a way to help Percy, right?

"Please do." Will replied, and it didn't sound like a challenge or a joke.

It sounded genuine.

"Sometimes, you scare me." Jason admitted with a small sigh, and Will laughed, giving his hand a hard squeeze.

"I know right? Sometimes, I scare myself, too."

Even though he said it with a smile on his face, Jason thought he sounded a bit sad.

"Hey there, beauties! Whoa, Will, what did you do with your face?" Percy asked when they were close enough, and Jason turned to look at Will again, trying to see what Percy was talking about.

Will blinked at him with big eyes, looking confused.

"What? What's wrong with my face?"

Percy shook his head seriously and stepped forward, his hands cupping Will's face.

Then, he started grinning.

"Nothing, it's adorable as usual." He then said and leaned forward to kiss him; and Will made an indignant sound in the back of his throat, while Nico groaned loudly behind him.

"Percy, that one _sucked_!"

Percy pulled away, shooting Nico a small pout.

"Aw, you think so? I thought it worked just fine."

Jason rolled his eyes to himself, shaking his head quietly.

What a dork.

He moved towards his boyfriend, and Percy turned to grin at him, eyes sparkling and teeth flashing as usual.

He looked perfectly fine to Jason.

However, he knew to trust Will's judgment.

"You went about it the completely wrong way, babe." He said seriously, and Percy raised an eyebrow, though his smile didn't lessen.

"Oh yeah, enlighten me how it's done, then, mighty flirt-master."

Well, he guessed he could _try_.

"Oooh, Percy you're so done for." Will laughed, and Nico groaned again, saying something about their ages and how the guys were being utter kids again, but hey, what else was new?

Jason reached out to touch the side of Percy's face, making a surprised face.

"Hey, what's wrong with your face?"

Percy looked at him with his best unimpressed look, but then sighed and went along.

"What?"

Jason shook his head, moving his free hand up to his own face to tap on his lips thoughtfully.

"Hm, I'm not sure. Something seems different."

Percy tilted his head slightly, studying his face to see whether he was actually serious, or just a splendid actor.

Ha, Jason knew he was a genius sometimes.

"Yeah, something is _definitely_ missing on it." He said after another moment of consideration, and Percy squinted up at him quizzically.

"What?"

Jason tried to resist, but couldn't, and a broad grin spread on his lips.

"Me." He declared, then leaned down to capture his boyfriend's lips with his own.

 _That's_ how it was done.

Will snorted out a laugh behind Percy, and Nico let out a defeated sigh before laughing along, as well, while Percy groaned against his lips.

"That was horrible, just so you know. Mine was _tons_ better." He criticized as they parted, but then moved back closer for another kiss, and Jason grinned victoriously to himself.

"Keep telling yourself that, babe. You know what you'll be saying later." He purred, and suddenly, Percy all but melted against him, arms moving around Jason's neck, and their soft kisses turning more intense.

"Oh really? And what is it we're going to do later, pray tell?" Percy whispered, his voice alluring and soft, drawing him in like his body was.

'You', he wanted to reply, but knew full well that would lead to the two of them stumbling off to their cabin instead of dinner.

"Hopefully, the laundry." He deadpanned instead, before this got too out of bounds, and Percy had to break away to laugh, smacking his shoulder.

" _You horrible being_! I was getting into a mood there!"

"So was Jason, but may I remind you that we're still outside and about to go grab dinner? Because I don't know about you, but _I'm_ starving." Will pointed out with clear amusement in his voice, an arm already wrapped around Nico while his other one was reaching out for Percy, and Jason took the gleam in his eyes as confirmation this had been the right decision.

Percy huffed indignantly, but then laughed too, nudging Jason's shoulder again before threading their fingers together, the four of them moving towards the dining pavilion.

"Still horrible. Now you owe me."

"Sure thing, babe." Jason replied good-naturedly, already knowing how Percy would react before he did.

"Stop calling me 'babe'. _I_ called you that, first. After all, I was already calling you that when we were still 'bros'!"

Ha. Nailed it.

"Aww, are you saying you had the hots for me? How _cute_." He cooed, and Will leaned forward to shoot him an impressed, appreciating look that made Jason's grin even wider.

" _We're dating_!" Percy exclaimed with quickly reddening ears, and Jason shrugged just because he could.

"Still cute."

"You're horrible. I'm divorcing you."

"You love me."

"You're sleeping on the floor tonight."

"That's not what you'll say later."

"Stop it with your insinuations! I'm not falling for your laundry-lines again!"

"Guys, oh gods, you take aggressive flirting to a whole new level, I swear…" Nico mumbled next to them, and Jason had to agree.

"Oh, let them have their fun, sweetheart. It's their outlet to all the stress of the day." Will replied in an amused voice, and Jason had to agree with that, too.

"I'd much rather they roll in the sheets already." Nico commented dryly, and both Percy and Jason shot him matching dirty grins.

"Only because you want to be in the middle." They both replied at the same time, and Will broke out laughing loudly, while Nico's face turned beet-red immediately.

" _By the gods_!"

"Guys, please, I did _not_ need to hear that. I'm trying to eat here." Annabeth deadpanned as she moved past them with her plate and a disturbed look on her face, but Piper behind her was laughing and winking at Jason with a thumbs up, letting him know no damage was done.

Okay, they should probably stop now though, before somebody _other_ than their immediate friends overheard them talking.

"You're both sleeping on the floor tonight." Nico grumbled darkly, and Jason guessed that gave them the perfect way to redirect the conversation.

He studied Percy's profile for a moment as they sat down, taking note of how much more at ease he seemed right now, even when he was acting all devastated and pleading.

The gleam in his eyes was more vivid than during training, his entire face lighting up as he talked and gestured.

Jason couldn't imagine Percy ever _not_ being this way.

He didn't _want_ to imagine his Percy being any other way; of him losing this side of him.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he was he never wanted to see that happening.

Jason hoped he would never have to.

...

The moment Percy stepped into their cabin, he wanted to drop dead onto the bed and never get up again.

What a day.

First, he had woken up to Will scrambling away, which had already made him worry – just to find _Nico's dad_ standing there in all his gloomy glory, scaring the shit out of him and making him follow Will's lead of _getting the fuck away_.

(He still couldn't believe he had just gone and used Jason as a shield like that, but in his defense, he had known they weren't _really_ in danger…much…)

Then, there had been this whole mess with Will's dream, and Nico's dream, and everything was weird, and Percy didn't understand, but mostly because he didn't _want_ to, already fed up enough with everything, as it was.

Would Will ever get a break?

Would _any of them_ ever get a break?

It was infuriating.

Finding out just how Kyle had talked to and about Will had been even more so, and he still had to fight the urge to look for that sick bastard and run Riptide through him.

Then again, couldn't they just do some sort of demon-summoning-ritual?

That asshole was most definitely the worst demon out there, he was _bound_ to show up.

Then, they could stab him thirty-three times, spray some holy water on him, stick his ass on a cross, and do whatever was necessary to make sure he was dead and gone and wouldn't ever come back in any sort of way.

Percy might not know much about demon-summoning and exorcism, but he found his idea sounded perfectly plausible.

However, he was also pretty certain the guys wouldn't agree, so he kept it to himself for now.

Jason had been pretty livid, though.

Gods, Jason had looked ready to murder, even _Percy_ had momentarily felt a tinge of fear.

He had still reached out for his hand, of course, and had been more than relieved when Jason's demeanor had instantly softened, but it was still horrible how much that bastard could get to them, how much he could _affect_ them.

Other than that, and Nico's dad (who still hated him, apparently, but what else was new?), the day had done fairly well, but Percy was just…ugh.

It was all just… _ugh_.

Today had been one of those days where he wished Jason would have insisted on lazy days and dragged them back to bed.

It had looked like it in the beginning, too, and he knew Jason had been toying with the thought.

However, in the end, responsibilities had won out, and they had all gone to fulfill their various duties.

In Percy's case: _training_.

Oh, how he hated it.

He loved it, but by now, he was beginning to hate it.

It was just…

The kids already _knew_ what they had to do.

They just didn't _want_ to.

Not really, anyways.

They wanted to learn more and more and more, all the moves there were, but they didn't bother to perfect the ones they already knew, and no matter what Percy tried to say, it was met with deaf ears.

Not all of them, of course, and not all groups; but with each passing day, Percy was beginning to lose focus of the good groups; the interested kids.

The bad ones simply stuck out more.

And it was simply too many.

Percy was not a professional instructor, nor any sort of teacher, and his knowledge was limited to what he had been taught in the past, and what he had taught himself when that had failed.

But he hadn't been training for _that_ long, he was far from a professional.

Yet, he was supposed to teach all of that to not just a bunch of kids, but what felt like the entire Camp.

It just…how did that even add up?

"Want me to take a shower with you, Gorgeous? You look like you could use a back massage." Will said quietly as Percy let himself fall facedown onto the bed, and Percy let out a soft moan.

A massage sounded _wonderful_.

However, Will needed that much more than him.

"Lemme massage you instead. I wanna touch." He mumbled, and Will sat down next to him on the bed, threading his fingers through his hair.

Jason and Nico were still discussing possible training methods for the whole closing-your-mind-thing, but Percy wasn't even trying to follow that conversation anymore.

What was the point?

He already knew he had to learn that if it was the last thing he did; unwilling to ever let anybody possess his mind again; and he also already knew he'd ask Nico to teach him how to dream-travel (or whatever it was Nico had been doing) so he could be of help in case Will was ever in any danger, again.

That was all he needed to know.

The formalities and methods…yeah, Jason and Nico could work those out just fine by themselves, because, for today, Percy had pondered way too much to be of any use, he was certain.

He sighed and reached out with a hand, grabbing hold of Will's thigh, and his boyfriend let him stroke over it at an awkward angle.

He thought of the things Nico had told them, of what Kyle had said, and his stomach lurched again immediately.

Even more so when he realized once more, that Will hadn't said a single word about it all day.

He turned his head, gazing at his boyfriend from where he laid, and Will met his gaze a moment later, looking as exhausted as Percy felt.

"I love you, Will." He said quietly, and Will gave the faintest hint of a smile, before leaning down to let his forehead rest against the side of his head.

"I know, Gorgeous. I love you, too. Don't think about it too much, okay?"

Percy nodded, though he also knew he couldn't help it.

"I wish there was a way I could take you with me when I fall asleep. I have nice dreams. They're funny and weird." He mused quietly, and Will's small huff indicated the hint of a smile.

Percy turned over to his side, his hands reaching out to stroke through Will's hair and caress the area behind his ears, knowing Will enjoyed that without getting horny in a heartbeat.

Will hummed in appreciation.

"Sounds like fun, Gorgeous. If I could, I'd come along, too." He replied, and Percy sighed, gazing up at the ceiling, before he closed his eyes again.

"Or we could switch dreams. I'd get your nightmares, and you'd get my dreams. I'd let you have my dreams any day."

Once, he had dreamed about having a blue dog.

He wondered faintly what Will would say if he had that dream.

He'd probably laugh.

Which…didn't sound too bad, actually.

"I bet you would. Come on, love, let's get you in the shower. Wash off the poison of the day."

Poison, huh?

Yeah, Kyle was like poison.

Vile, evil creature.

"Don't wanna. Lemme touch you some more. Is it okay if I touch you?" He asked, and even though Will nodded, he still pulled away, giving him a small kiss on the forehead before he tugged on his hand, motioning for him to get up.

Percy heaved a heavy sigh and did as he was told, following his boyfriend obediently to the bathroom, past Jason and Nico, who shot them almost concerned looks for a moment.

What?

Well, it was probably nothing.

Will closed the bathroom door, but didn't lock it, and while that confused Percy, he didn't question it, instead more interested in watching Will stripping down without rush.

"One day I'm going to count all your freckles." He said quietly as he watched more and more of them appearing as more and more clothing hit the floor.

"Already looking forward to it." Will replied amused, then moved over to him to tug on his clothes and get him to get going with getting undressed as well.

Percy's lips split into a small grin automatically.

"That eager to see me naked?"

"Absolutely. How else am I going to get my well-deserved shower?" Will deadpanned, and Percy sighed theatrically, though he did hurry up, and was more than pleased when Will moved to give him a slow, languid kiss.

"Hey, how was last night, by the way? I've been meaning to ask ever since I had to pass over the lube." Percy asked, knowing the question was out of the blue, especially with them about to take a shower together (which…was actually a first, at least for the two of them), but he couldn't help it.

Will blinked in surprise for a moment, then his expression changed, becoming surprisingly…dreamy.

"It was great." He replied in what was probably meant to be a nonchalant tone, but the way his lips quirked into that lazy smile told Percy somebody had enjoyed himself _a lot_.

"Great, huh? You know, Nico made it sound like much more than just 'great', I'm just saying." He pointed out, and had Will's undivided attention immediately, his expression alone yelling 'Tell me everything you know!'.

Heh, so cute.

"You talked to him about it? Did he like it? Was I any good?"

There went all of Will's composure.

Percy ushered him into the shower, trying to rein in his smile.

"Dude, he loved it. You should have seen his face when I asked. Even dreamier than you. I definitely think he'd be up for a repeat performance in the future. Didn't you two talk about it afterwards?" He asked curiously, not remembering whether they had been talking when he had fallen asleep with the tissue box still in his arms, or whether that had already been inside his dream.

"Not really. It didn't really occur to me until Nico was asleep and I came down from my high. I swear, I was worrying sick he'd be sore as heck in the morning."

Percy knew that worry only all too well.

Jason clearly didn't, because Percy was _always_ sore, but he guessed that might just be his own fault, since he very well knew he was the one constantly egging him on.

Then again, he kind of liked it, too, so it wasn't as if he ever complained.

"He didn't say anything about that. Only went all heart-eyes on me and started raving. I was almost starting to get jealous." He pointed out, though he had been far from jealous.

Surprised, maybe, and definitely intrigued, but he wasn't going to let Will know that just now.

Instead, he started the water, and breathed out a soft sigh of relief when he felt his muscles relaxing almost instantly, his whole body suddenly feeling _a lot_ lighter.

He glanced sideways at Will, wondering faintly whether he knew, and whether this was why he had urged him to take a shower.

It was strange, the way they took care of each other sometimes.

But Percy would lie if he said he didn't love it.

Will never said when he was helping them, and never reminded them that he did.

He simply did it, and never expected nor wanted anything in return.

His boyfriend met his gaze with a questioning one of his own, and Percy shook his head slightly.

"You're an amazing guy, you know that?"

Will chuckled softly, shaking his head as he studied the tiles for a moment, before reaching out to nudge Percy's hand away from the tap and turn up the heat.

"Are you trying to seduce me? Because I can think of ten better ways to go about that, and heating up my shower water is nine of them."

Percy laughed and raised an eyebrow, trying to decide between pointing out that sentence didn't make any sense, or going along with it and asking what the tenth was.

"Unfortunately, I know you'd have me either way, so I'll be claiming this water once more, thank you very much." He decided at last, when he water was definitely _way too warm_ as it rained down on him.

How could Will take it?

…Apparently, rather well, since his boyfriend turned up the heat mere moments after Percy had reduced the temperature a bit again.

"Suck it up, Gorgeous. You agreed to a shower with me. My shower, my rules." Will declared, and Percy gaped at him, poking him playfully.

"Hey, _I'm_ the son of Poseidon, here. This is most definitely _my_ shower."

"Don't say your dad's name so loud, I definitely don't want his first impression of me being of me screaming naked in the shower, thank you very much." Will remarked, and Percy wondered faintly whether that could actually happen.

Since Hades had made it sound as if he heard it each and every time his name was being used (and Percy was pretty sure he could remember Annabeth and others telling him the same thing plenty enough times in the past), he was pretty sure it _was_.

Oops.

"Eh, he'd love you. Now, please reduce the heat, I'm burning up here." He insisted, and Will gave a doubtful snort.

"I doubt it, and no. You're not burning up. I can feel you being vital as ever, so thanks for not forcing me to freeze to death in the ice you apparently shower in."

"Hey, that's the price of being cool!"

"I don't wanna be cool! I just want to enjoy a nice, warm shower!" Will exclaimed, and Percy huffed, turning the tap again to get some cool water.

"Warm, my ass. You're trying to boil us like lobsters!"

"Am not! You're trying to freeze us like ice cream or something. How do you live through this?"

"By standing under it and enjoying the cool spray?" Percy deadpanned and did just that, just to whine loudly when Will turned up the heat again.

"Cool spray? I'm surprised there's no ice cubes flying out of the shower head!"

"You're exaggerating, sun-bug. And seriously, you can boil noodles in this!"

"Now you're the one exaggerating. The only noodle that's burning is yours."

Whoa.

Low blow.

"Guys, are you flirting or fighting in there? We can't quite tell the difference right now, and Nico is very concerned." Jason's voice sounded from the door, and they both poked out their heads to see him poking his head into the bathroom.

"Percy is trying to freeze my balls off!"

"Will is trying to _boil_ mine off!"

"You're both children. Why don't you just find some middle ground and take a shower in peace? Your balls will thank you." Jason retorted unimpressed, and closed the door again.

Always such a voice of reason.

They both huffed indignantly, then Will turned up the heat again, and Percy turned it down again, which led to a battle that lasted a whole minute, then Will had him pinned against the tiles and was kissing him feverishly, the warm, rather… _okay_ water raining down on them softly.

Yeah…okay, maybe he could live with that.

"You can make it a bit colder than this, if you want to." Will offered in defeat as he pulled away, and Percy tugged on his arm to keep him there, his hand coming up to stroke the wet, now dark-blonde looking strands out of Will's face.

"It's perfect the way it is."

Will's lips quirked up slightly, then he raised a cocky eyebrow, and Percy adored seeing him like that.

"Oh really? You were complaining just a moment ago about this very temperature, you know?"

He was aware.

"Yeah, but I just realized I've been wanting to take a shower with you for months already, and no water in the world is going to stop me from making the most of it."

Will's eyes widened slightly while his cheeks flushed, and Percy watched with growing elation and satisfaction how his freckles started glowing.

Oh, he loved it when they did that.

He was most _definitely_ going to count those at some point.

All of them.

"You're a sap, Percy. Did I ever tell you that?" Will asked softly, his eyes warm and full of love.

"Nah." Percy replied, mainly to see his radiant smile once more.

Will didn't disappoint.

Will never _could_.

Percy leaned forward to kiss him again, intent on letting him know the same.


	10. Chapter 10: The Progress We Make

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes

here's the next chapter :D Sorry for missing last week's update, life is a bit of a rollercoaster right now.

Thanks for all your input on things you'd like to see, an extra chapter would definitely make sense now, even if a lot of stuff is already very likely to happen the next some chapters ;)

Hope you enjoy the chapter~

Wish you all the best,  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The Progess We Make**

Will woke up with a gasp.

What…

Heat pooled in the pit of his stomach, and a small gasp escaped him as he tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes, confusion filling him to the core.

There was warmth, friction, a body rubbing against him, hands on his-…

Will moaned softly, the confusion not lessening, though he recognized the person as Nico.

Nico's body pressed against his front.

Nico's hands on his backside.

 _Oh gods._

Okay, but real talk, why could he wake up hot and bothered when being molested by his very naked (and very much asleep) boyfriend, but then he also had mornings where they were dressed and he woke up freaking out?

(Alright, one morning, but _still_!)

(Sadly, he had a hunch he knew the answer, but that was a thought for a much different time.)

Nico moved against him insistently, making small sounds in his sleep, and Will could have sworn he also heard him mumbling something under his breath, even if he wasn't able to make out any words.

Oh gods.

Seriously, molested by _Nico_.

Will couldn't help the small smirk playing on his lips.

Who'd have guessed he'd live to see that day?

Then again, Nico had been the one more than willing to have that rather rushed (but so, _so_ good) quickie with him the other night, so he guessed he shouldn't be surprised.

(At least _he_ referred to their sex as a quickie, still a tad unnerved by just how quickly they had blown.)

Nico made a soft noise, then he started squeezing Will's butt again, and Will had to bite his lip to stop himself from moaning.

He should move his hands.

It felt way too good, but who knew for how long that would last?

There was shuffling behind him, then Percy pressed against his back with a rather satisfied sigh, and Will felt his face heating ever so slightly as he felt way too much skin against his own.

Nico grumbled, giving another insistent squeeze, and this time Will _did_ let out a soft moan.

Okay, he definitely had to stop this…

Will was about to move, but then Percy shifted closer and draped his arm over him, and Nico grumbled loudly again, apparently unhappy with how close Percy's groin was to his hands.

Needless to say, Nico's next action was to pull said hands away and turn around to either sleep in peace or to molest Jason.

Which…left Percy's groin to…

Will stiffened, then shifted, then closed his eyes with a gasp so soft it didn't even seem to be a real sound.

 _Oh gods_.

Please…

No, wait, _no_.

Bad idea.

 _Very_ bad idea.

Just because Nico had riled him up a bit, didn't mean he had to go and make bad decisions this early in the morning.

What time was it, anyways?

Ugh, who cared.

Will bit his lip, moving his hips back ever so slowly, tentatively, _slowly_.

Why, oh why, did Percy have to be half-hard and so, _so_ tempting…?

Oh, Will so shouldn't be doing this.

If the guys were awake, they'd definitely freak out, even more than Will internally was.

Oh, how he _wished_ …

No.

No, bad idea.

Very bad idea.

 _Still_ a very bad idea!

Will licked over his bottom lip nervously, then bit it again, closing his eyes as if that made anything less real than it was as he started ever so subtly rubbing back against Percy.

Oh _yes_ …

Just…just for a tiny little bit…

Percy tugged him closer, and Will let out a small gasp, wishing for all the things he couldn't have.

Oh gods, what was this, even?

What was he doing?

Sure, Nico might have just touched him in his sleep, but first of all, who knew what he was dreaming (and of whom), and second of all, that was no reason for Will to in turn molest Percy!

Plus, usually the smallest thing that indicated him bottoming was already enough to make him tense and freak out, so this should be _utterly not-okay_!

Hell, even if that weren't the case, it was still not-okay, given that he was _molesting Percy_!

…In a way.

Then again, Percy _had_ already been half-hard, it wasn't as if Will had…

Wait, was he trying to make excuses now?

Bad.

Very bad.

He had to move.

Will _did_ move.

Just…not away from Percy, instead rocking his hips ever so faintly against him, wishing, imagining, praying, _pleading with God since the gods never had mercy on him_.

He…faintly wondered how it would feel if…

Percy was gentle in bed; he knew that much already.

Will also knew he'd do his best to make him feel good.

Of course he would. All three of them would.

Gods, Will _wished_ …

But it was a way too high risk.

What if he _did_ freak out?

He had decided a long, long time ago to _never_ bottom again.

For nobody.

Ever.

But…but…

Will shifted and let out a needy gasp, senselessly wishing for Percy to be awake, for this to be real, for him to not have any sort of issues that might stand in their way, for him to be able to experience all of this the same way _they_ were (or would be) able to experience it.

How would it feel?

Would it hurt at all?

Or would it feel the same way to him as it had felt for Nico when he had had his first time with Jason, painless and amazing?

Would Will remember his past times?

Or would he be so swept away there'd be nothing but the here and now, just the guys and him…?

Will gasped again, wishing, wishing, _wishing_.

Percy was hard.

Was that Will's fault, or coincidence?

Will tried to tell himself it was coincidence.

Morning wood was a thing, after all, it didn't have to be because he was rutting against him ever so inconspicuously.

Absolutely not.

Will bit his lip so hard he knew he'd draw blood soon, but there was no way he could stop it.

Nor could he stop what he was doing, either.

Oh, he had to stop.

This was way too risky.

What if Percy moved the wrong way?

What if Will moved the wrong way and went too far?

What if any of the guys _woke up_?!

Will half wished they were still wearing their underwear.

It would make humping so much easier and less risky.

Then again, this allowed him to _feel_ Percy so much better.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, he had to stop this…

Why was it that he never seemed to have any self-control in crucial moments?

Will rubbed against his boyfriend – not just his groin, but against him, in general, relishing in the feeling of his skin against his own, wishing and imagining and inwardly begging for more.

Oh gods, yes, _please_.

What wouldn't he give for…

No, no he shouldn't be like this.

He shouldn't think this.

He _definitely_ shouldn't _do_ this.

Hadn't he learned anything from the whole mess with the pillow corner and Jason?

Sure, it had played out rather nicely in the end, _but_ that didn't make anything any less horrible, especially his 'Oh, let me just _molest somebody in their sleep_ ' thing.

Oh gods, he was a creep.

He absolutely was.

His poor guys.

They were doing their best to be considerate of his boundaries, and here he was, ignoring any possible boundaries by rutting against his boyfriend like a madman.

He moaned softly, his heart in his throat and his hands clutching Percy's arm frantically, and then Percy was shifting closer, his arm around him tightening and his other hand moving between them to adjust where his dick was going.

Will felt the tip against his entrance, not pushing, just rubbing against it, and he swore he was _dying_.

He moaned, stilling completely as he tipped his head down, his breathing ragged, his eyes squeezed shut, his body trembling, and his teeth drawing blood from his lip, at last.

 _Oh gods_.

Oh gods, yes.

Oh gods, no.

No, he shouldn't.

He couldn't.

But…

But _please_ …

Why?

Why couldn't he?

They'd give it a try if he just asked for it, he knew it.

But he couldn't ask for it!

Who knew what would happen?!

He didn't want to freak out!

If he freaked out, he'd ruin everything!

There was a small thrust, and he gasped, the sensation driving him crazy.

It had been so long…

And it felt so good…

Couldn't he…just a tiny little bit…?

Another thrust, and Will groaned, rubbing back against Percy frantically, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as he was in a never-ending conflict with himself.

Percy moved, the top of his head pressing against his back between his shoulder blades, and Will could hear his ragged breathing, could feel the tension in his shoulders, could sense the concentration it took him to keep this controlled.

Will shivered and moaned, wondering whether there was any way he could muffle his sounds without letting go of Percy.

He didn't want to let go of Percy.

He _couldn't_ let go of Percy.

Plus, what if he woke up?

Will would _die_ if Percy ever found out about-…

Will's eyes snapped open, dread washing over him as he focused on Percy's values, his _emotions_ , wild and riled up and all over the place and _seeming very much awake_.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

No, please, by all the gods, by everything that existed, _please_ , this couldn't be real.

Will reacted automatically, sitting up with a jolt and his head snapping around, his heart threatening to jump right out of his ribcage.

No, please…

Percy let out a small noise, looking up at him with a mixture of uncertainty, arousal and concern.

"Too much?"

Oh no.

No, no, no, no, _no_.

Why was he awake?

How could he just…

When had he…

Will didn't need a mirror to know he was quickly paling.

"I-I-I…I'm sorry!" He blurted out, practically yelling his stammer through the room, and both Jason and Nico started shifting in reply, as if about to wake up.

Percy blinked up at him, but before he could say or do anything, Will already fled the bed.

No!

No, no, no, no, _no_!

This was _not_ how…

Oh, by all the gods, _why_?!

He had only…only wanted…just once…

Oh _gods_!

"Will?" Percy asked startled, but Will merely yelled another apology into the room before he was already at the bathroom door, then inside the bathroom, then he slammed the door shut and locked it, falling back against it with a loud thud that wasn't even half as loud as the mortified screeching inside him.

 _No_!

What had he _done_?!

And why, by all the gods and deities in existence, did Percy have to _know_?!

Couldn't he have just self-indulged for _one time_ , without having to suffer the consequences _immediately_?!

Will let his head fall back against the door a couple of times, but then he could hear shuffling on the other side of the door and stopped, not wanting to worry the guys.

There was a timid knock on the door.

"Will?"

Ugh, Percy, not now…

Couldn't the guy let him suffer in peace for just five minutes?

Why did he have to sound so clueless, anyways?

Will was pretty sure he knew full well what had just happened.

There was muttering, and while he could barely make out any words, he knew the voices belonged to all three of them.

So he had woken all three of them up.

Splendid.

Another knock came, this time accompanied by Jason's voice.

"Will? You okay?"

Oh, he was doing _fine_.

Unfortunately, he knew if he said that, they'd probably run in the door.

How had that happened, anyways?

Will rubbed at his face with a heavy sigh.

Yeah, okay, maybe he shouldn't have bent the truth so many times and claimed he was fine when he was not.

Maybe.

But hey, did they just forget how many people lied on a daily basis by replying to the question 'How are you?' with anything dismissive or positive, even when that wasn't the case at all?

Will contemplated asking them that, but then decided against it, since they'd probably only say something along the lines of 'That may be so, but we care about you, and we need you to be honest with us so we can help you'.

They were such a considerate bunch, after all.

"Will?" Nico's voice.

"I'm f-…I'm super freaking great! Everything's cool! Ima just…you know…erm…shower. Long shower. Yep." He called, then cringed at how high-pitched and fake his voice sounded, and for a moment, he just stood there and stared at his reflection in the mirror, waiting for whether they'd leave him be or not.

There was more muttering in front of the door, then somebody sighed, and he could hear movement.

"Are you sure?" Percy asked, and Will shook his head.

Absolutely not.

"Yep! Totally!" He called back, then moved over to the shower to turn on the water, just so the guys wouldn't attempt even more conversation.

Gods, this was horrible.

What if Percy told them?

How would he ever be able to look them in the eyes again?

Then again, how was he going to look _Percy_ in the eyes again?

Will wanted to groan, but knew the guys would probably be able to hear that, so he bit his tongue and stepped into the running shower, realizing belatedly Percy would _probably_ be able to feel whether he was in there or just letting the water run.

He could faintly hear more shuffling and movement, then they seemed to move away from the door, which made him let out a relieved, yet miserable sigh.

Gods, what was he going to do now?

How could he possibly explain this to Percy?

'Hey, I know how it looked, but I totally didn't want to molest you! I just wanted to get off on imagining how nice it would feel if you had sex with me, even though I'm the one constantly insisting sex is out of the question! Nope, doesn't make me a hypocrite whatsoever! Absolutely not! Where'd you get that idea?'

Yeah…no.

Will let the back of his head hit the tiles, his hands coming up to cover his face and muffle his despairing groan.

Couldn't there be just _one morning_ in which he didn't mess up in one way or another?

He already caused enough trouble by waking up each and every night due to his nightmare, why did he have to go and mess up even more than that with things he should actually be able to control?!

It just wasn't fair!

Why couldn't he have just acknowledged the fact he was horny and just gone back to bed?

Or leave for the bathroom?

It would have been so _easy_ to just climb out of bed, not wake any of them up, and go to the bathroom for a nice, relaxing shower, or to masturbate, or whatever the heck ever.

If he had wanted to be experimental or found himself being too curious to ignore his sudden wish for penetration, there was lube and he had working fingers.

…Will cringed at his own thoughts and decided to very subtly act as if he hadn't just thought any of that.

No.

No, he had tried that a few times after _he_ had left, and he had decided for himself that was a very, _very_ bad thing to do, especially when he was alone with nobody checking on him at any given point.

Nope, he did _not_ want to panic and find himself passing out, thank you very much.

Oh gods, this was horrible.

What had he been _thinking_?!

…He hadn't been thinking.

Why was it that he was never thinking when it was _important_?!

He groaned into his hands again, then started focusing on his shower, even though he didn't intend to stop anytime soon.

He still had no idea what to say, after all.

Would the guys know?

Would they ask him why he had done that?

Would they feel betrayed?

And there Will had really thought things had started going better, with them trusting him to speak up, and with him showing them he would.

Of course, things had been a bit different after the whole mess with _him_ in his dreams _again_ , but even then the guys had tried to continue like usual as best as they could, and Will was surprised to see just how _well_ the whole safeword-thing actually worked.

(There he had thought that would make him mess up even more, not to mention hold everything up and turn things awkward, if he actually used them at all.)

(Oh, how wrong he had been.)

(If anything, things were going much smoother whenever he was, and his guys seemed at so much more ease ever since he had started trying to use them _regularly_.)

But, of course, now he had to go and ruin that.

Good work, Will.

He was about to crouch in the shower and wallow in self-pity some more, when there was another gentle knock on the door.

"Will? We're going to pick up some breakfast before it gets too crowded. Do you want to come with?" Nico asked, and Will breathed out a sigh of relief.

At least he'd have some more time to mull it all over and decide how to face them.

"Nah, it's okay. Just go, I'll be here." He called back, faintly surprised that they'd actually leave him here alone when it was more than evident _something_ had happened.

Who knew, maybe Percy had told them and they had to take a moment to cope with their disappointment.

Would they be disappointed in him?

Will cringed, deciding that was something he didn't want to contemplate right now.

He strained his ears, trying to determine whether they were really leaving, and he had to admit he was still slightly surprised about that when he heard the front door opening and closing.

Wow.

They seriously left him here alone.

Was he happy about that, or disturbed?

Will decided to settle for the first, but only because he really needed some more time to himself.

What was he going to say to Percy?

Would Percy be upset?

He had seemed so confused, why had he seemed so confused?

Well, then again, if he hadn't been upset immediately, he'd probably be upset now, after thinking about it, realizing what had happened…and of course after the fact that Will had sort of run off. Again.

Yeah, Will really had to work on that…

He had sworn to himself he wouldn't do that anymore, after all, and eight times out of ten, he succeeded.

(Now more like seven times out of ten…)

He hated it, but most of the time it was so automatic he simply couldn't help it…though he didn't expect them to understand, nor accept that.

He knew it was his own fault, and he knew he had to work on it.

Will sighed and turned off the shower, then grabbed one of the towels to dry himself off somewhat.

There wasn't really any point in staying in the bathroom when the others were gone, anyways.

If he did, then he was only risking them coming back and finding him still locked up in there, and then they'd definitely know something was wrong.

Not to mention it would be so much more difficult to leave the bathroom, knowing they were right there waiting for him, and waiting for him to _explain_.

This way, once he was out there, all they had to do was come back, and he'd have to live with the confrontation then.

Ugh, he wasn't looking forward to it.

What was he going to say?

How was he going to explain something he couldn't even explain to himself?

Will brushed his teeth and moved his hands through his towel-dried hair, wishing he had Percy's ability to dry himself, too.

Then again, he already wished for any sort of powers on a daily basis so he'd miraculously become _useful_ , so that wasn't anything new.

But for real, _what was he going to say_?!

Groaning loudly and miserably, Will unlocked the door and stepped out into the room, rubbing at his face in utter frustration.

This was the _worst_!

Will was about to throw himself on the bed and scream into the pillow, when he took one look at the bed – and jumped back, more than ready to scream _without_ any pillow.

"Please don't run off again, Will." Percy said quietly, sitting on the bed with his legs pulled up and his arms wrapped around them, dressed in a shirt and boxer shorts.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, he was _still there_.

 _Of course they hadn't left him alone_!

Oh gods, Will was an idiot.

Oh gods, Will was _absolutely not ready for this_.

For a moment, he really contemplated turning around and storming back into the bathroom.

But then, he saw the sad look on Percy's face, and his chest tightened painfully, so he clenched his jaw and stayed where he was, unable to go on, but also unable to retreat.

Percy patted the space next to him, but Will still only stared at him, pretty sure his shock was plainly visible on his face.

"I stayed behind so we could talk." Percy stated the obvious, but Will couldn't find it in him to reply.

The moment his boyfriend looked up at him with those sea-green eyes full of misery and uncertainty though, and a jolt went through him.

"I am so sorry." He blurted, even though he was pretty sure Percy had already gathered as much from his earlier exclamations.

"Why?" Percy asked, and Will blinked.

Did he really…have to ask…?

Will looked down at the ground in shame.

"For…you know…for doing… _that_. I know I shouldn't have. I _knew_ it was wrong. I just…I woke up and…and…and Nico was touching my…I mean, it's not _his_ fault, of course! It was really just me. Me being stupid. I swear I would have stopped. I didn't…I didn't think you'd wake up…which sounds even worse, but please, I really didn't mean to…" He stammered, trying to explain without making excuses, but he already knew he was failing miserably.

"Will, I was awake the entire time." Percy pointed out, and Will's gaze shot up to him automatically in pure horror, just to find him frowning back at him.

He…wait, _what_?!

But when…when had he woken up?!

How come Will hadn't felt it?!

…Or maybe he had, but he had sort of…not paid that much attention, since he had been too busy with his own thoughts, and the sensations, and his worries, and…oh gods, Percy might have _seriously_ been awake that entire time…

"I woke up when you first moaned because of Nico. That's why I moved closer in the first place, to check whether you were okay. Once I knew you were good, I was about to fall asleep again when you started moving against me. I have to admit I was a bit surprised at first, not to mention not entirely sure you were even fully awake yet, until you started clutching my arm – and then I sort of figured you knew what you were doing." Percy explained, and Will hurriedly looked at the ground again, grimacing to himself as his face started heating with embarrassment and shame.

Oh gods, this was even worse than anything he had thought.

"I…I'm not some creepy person molesting asleep people, Percy. I swear. I know it has to seem that way, especially since this is kind of _a lot_ like how the whole mess with Jason and the pillow corner started, but _I swear_ …" He tried in another fit of despair, and noted off-handedly he was still wet and only clad in the towel around his hips.

Somehow, he couldn't make himself care.

In a way, he could have been dressed in a suit right about now, and still feel absolutely naked in front of Percy.

"I didn't think that for one moment. To be honest, I thought you knew I was awake…well, at least now it makes sense you didn't speak up, I guess. I mean, you know I'd always help you out, right?" Percy asked, and Will could see his own blush spreading along his shoulders and down his upper arms now.

He didn't even want to know how his face had to look right about now.

Percy patted the space next to him again, but Will very pointedly turned the other way and marched off to their wardrobe, pulling out a random assortment of clothes without really looking, his entire concentration spent on _looking away from Percy_.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, he couldn't deal with this conversation right now.

Percy had been awake the whole time.

Percy had known exactly what he had been doing.

Percy still didn't seem to realize the fundamental problem here.

Will wasn't sure he could actually explain it to him.

He was definitely sure he absolutely wasn't ready for this conversation, though.

"I…I know." He squeaked, his voice horribly high and awkward, and Will thought to himself he should have simply nodded, instead.

He tried to shrug into his clothes, but it was unnaturally difficult when he was still more than damp, and his body was still shaking, and his thoughts were still everywhere but on getting dressed.

In the end, he ended up stuck inside the sweater with his head hidden from view, and slumped in defeat.

"It's just…that's not exactly something I can ask for, you know?"

Okay, he should shut up before he started babbling even more nonsense.

"How so?" Percy asked with genuine confusion lacing his words, and Will only registered he was coming over when Percy was already in front of him, helping him into his sweater and forcing him to face the world once more, outside the safe inside of Nico's very old (and very small) skull sweatshirt.

Thinking about it, had his favorite Italian grown the past months?

…Was he trying to change the topic? Yes, yes he was.

Percy put his hand on his shoulder for a moment, and he could feel his skin drying immediately.

He partly wanted to lean into the touch, partly wanted to recoil from it, and when he looked up, he found Percy gazing back at him, patiently waiting for a reply.

Will looked down at his feet again, awkwardly fiddling with the hem of the sweatshirt.

"Well, it just isn't." He replied at long last, unable to think of anything better.

Percy let out a small sigh, but then reached out a hand, anyways, motioning for him to come along.

Will made a face, but allowed him to grab his hand and guide him back over towards the bed.

"Okay, then don't ask. I'll do it for you, then." Percy said simply, flopping down on the mattress and tugging Will down next to him, so they finally sat next to each other the way Percy had wanted to from the beginning on.

He'd ask what?

Will avoided his gaze, arguing with himself whether or not to ask.

If Percy was going to ask him at any given time whether he could hump him or the like, Will would probably be too stunned to react in any sort of way, truth be told.

Not to mention, the guys would never let it happen.

They knew full well he'd want to let them do anything they wanted, so if they asked, he'd probably allow anything and everything there was, no matter his inner state.

Gods, he'd still love to feel it, though…

He'd love to find out how it would be, how it would feel, how they would feel, whether there'd be a difference…

"Would you like me to do that again, sometime?" Percy asked cheerily, and Will nearly choked on his spit.

His head shot around with a wild look, and he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, even though no words came out.

This…had to be the worst conversation in his life.

He wasn't even sure how to feel anymore, whether he was more embarrassed or shocked or disturbed or simply hopelessly overwhelmed.

"Percy, what the fuck?"

In a way, Will was proud of getting a whole sentence out right there, especially one that was so sensible.

At the same time, though, he cringed by default at the sound of his own voice and the way those words were practically yelled through the room, even though he certainly hadn't meant them quite that bluntly.

Percy was back to frowning at him, now seeming hopelessly confused.

"What?"

"You can't just ask me…ask me… _that_!" Will exclaimed, voice still so horribly high-pitched.

Percy threw his arms up in frustration and confusion.

"Why not?! What's wrong with humping?"

This was it.

Will was going to die.

Right here.

Right now.

He felt his face exploding with heat, and was _pretty fucking sure_ he had to look worse than a tomato right now, but that wasn't even why he was going to die.

No, the reason for his early-met demise would be the way his heart threatened to jump out of his chest or throat any given moment, surely pumping way too much blood way too fast through his body.

He was absolutely going to have a heart attack.

Who needed dark pits when one could simply suffer from a heart attack?

Will wasn't sure whether he was proud of cheating the Fates out of all the possible misery, but he surely wasn't enjoying this end, either.

" _Everything_ is wrong with humping, Percy. Don't. Just. Don't. Would you ever…Percy, nobody _asks_ for that!" He exclaimed, still high-pitched, still breathless, and absolutely proud to manage any words at all – but Percy only let out another frustrated sound.

"Why not? Nico humped me just last night! Nobody gives a damn, as long as it feels good, why not do it?"

Was this how Percy faced all the decisions in his life?

…Will wasn't sure he wanted to contemplate the answer.

"That's _different_!" He argued, and Percy shot him a venomous glare.

"No. It's not. At all."

"It _is_!" Will insisted, uncaring whether he was pissing Percy off or not.

He knew he was right.

"Then why, pray tell, would it be different?" Percy snapped, and Will scowled at him for a long, painfully quiet moment.

Then he turned his face away, quickly followed by the rest of his body, turning his back to Percy as he tugged his legs up onto the bed to wrap his arms around them.

Whatever.

He didn't have to answer that.

Nobody could make him.

…They all knew it already, anyways.

"It's not different at all." Percy grumbled behind him, sounding a bit like a child.

Then again, they were both sort of behaving like children right now, bickering over something so…stupid.

Will hid his face at his knees.

"It is."

"I'll believe it when I hear just _one_ valid argument." Percy insisted, like the stubborn fool he was.

Will glowered at his knees, but remained quiet.

Percy sighed behind him.

It was a deep, pained sigh.

Will wanted to sigh, too.

"Will, it's really no big deal. As I said, we do that all the time already, anyways. I mean, seriously, I can't even remember one time in which we weren't humping or grinding against each other while making out. You did the same thing with me not to long ago, yourself."

Wow, did he have to bring that up, now?

Will still regretted bailing on Percy back then.

He should have just swallowed his fatigue from healing and gone along with it, anyways.

Then again, he knew how fast he'd have blown, and it probably would have made for a really, _really_ bad first time for the two of them.

So, yeah, he guessed it had all had its reasons.

"That's different." He grumbled, and Percy made another loud and frustrated sound.

" _How_?!"

Will flinched at the volume and intensity of Percy's voice, and his patience snapped like a twig.

"Well, you do that to have _sex_ afterwards, don't you?!" Will snapped at him, his voice not sounding high-pitched anymore, but therefore, he was yelling.

Percy flinched back with his mouth dropping open and his eyes widening – something Will could only see because he had turned his head to glower at him, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes again.

"I…we… _what_? Will, what does that have to do with _anything_?!"

"It's fucking foreplay, you dipshit! That's why it has _everything_ to do with it!"

Why was he still yelling?

He wasn't sure.

Percy threw his arms up again, this time in exasperation.

"Well, then we'll make it so it's _not_ just foreplay! It's not like we can't adapt to-…"

"Oh, _adapt_ , is it now?!" Will snarled, then cringed, then he firmly turned his back to Percy again to hide his pain, wrapping his arms so tightly around his legs it hurt.

"Will, I didn't mean…"

"Shut up. This is what I meant." Will snapped back, peeking at the bathroom door from between his knees.

But he discarded the thought before it had even completely formed.

"Will, it doesn't bother us, you know?"

Oh wow.

Yes, that was exactly what Will had to hear right now.

Whatever.

"I mean…you keep acting as if we're going to be upset. It just makes me wonder whether it's not actually that _you're_ upset about it. We told you so many times now we don't care. We love you, Will. No matter who tops, who bottoms, whatever the hell ever, it doesn't matter. It doesn't change that we love you. You should know that. You _do_ know that. I know you do. You're smart, after all." Percy continued, and Will scowled to himself, glowering at his knee so venomously he could swear he felt it beginning to ache.

Though that might also just be from his vice-like grip on his legs.

"But it's just…you keep bringing it up. You keep getting upset about it. Will… _we_ can accept it just fine if you don't wish to bottom. But, can _you_?" Percy said quietly, mercilessly forcing Will to listen and deal with the fact that he _knew_ , Percy _knew_ , everybody _knew_ , and he was a lie, and everything was a lie, and everything was just…just…

Will started sobbing.

"Leave me alone, Percy. I don't…want to talk about it." He choked out, rubbing his face against the rough fabric of his pants, only tightening his grip on himself.

This definitely had to be the worst start into the day possible.

"Sun-bug…" Percy's voice was soft and gentle, and Will could feel him coming closer, even before his boyfriend moved his arms around him from behind, his cheek rubbing against his shoulder.

"Stop trying to face everything by yourself, Will."

"Go away." Will forced out, but Percy didn't listen, instead shuffling closer and rubbing his cheek against his shoulder some more, as if nuzzling against it.

"You don't really want me to leave, though."

Will cried to himself.

He really didn't.

"I do. Leave me alone."

"Not until we talked this out."

Fucking stubborn fool.

More stubborn than a mule.

Probably because his dad was Poseidon, creator (and father…) of horses and all.

Will wondered whether all of those were as stubborn as Percy, too.

Maybe it was a family trait.

"Will?"

No.

"What? What do you want to hear? Yes, I fucking want to have sex with you. Yes, I fantasize about it a great deal, wondering how it would go down and what it would feel like. So what? What's it gonna change, Percy? It's not gonna change _shit_. I'm fucking broken, and I bet my ass I'm gonna freak at the worst possible moment and ruin _everything_." He snapped, pulling away from Percy to get off the bed, needing to move, needing to let out the frustration and pain inside him, needing to walk it off before he took it out on Percy.

He was so on edge lately, it was disturbing.

Of course, he now knew _why_ , his doubts in his sleep not lessening one bit, even with _him_ laying low once more.

"Stop saying you're broken!" Percy exclaimed, sounding positively furious, but Will waved him off.

"It's true though!"

"It's _not_! Who the fuck told you such bullshit?!" Percy nearly yelled, and Will stopped dead in his tracks, staring at Percy with what he knew had to be a wild, haunted look.

Realization washed over Percy's face, and his mouth snapped shut, a fire burning in his eyes Will couldn't read, though he could very well feel the sudden hatred and anger rolling off him in waves.

"I did." He replied curtly, and Percy's eyes narrowed.

"Bullshit."

Will didn't grace him with a reaction, instead turning his back to him again and beginning to pace the room aimlessly, trying to get away from Percy and the mess that was his life.

"Will, don't you believe a word of what that ass said, not one single word. He's nothing but a vile, sick bastard, and all that ever came out of his mouth was nothing but lies."

What else was new?

Will squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ban it all from his mind.

Everything.

"Don't you think I'm trying?" He heard himself saying, the words coming out broken and quiet, a feeble whisper in the loud silence of the room.

Will wrapped his arms around himself and pursed his lips, cursing himself for saying that, for saying anything, for causing this whole conversation, for…everything, really.

He heard hurried footsteps, then Percy was behind him, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing him tightly against him.

" _I know_. I know you are, Will. _We_ know. I'm sorry."

What was Percy even saying?

What was he apologizing for?

Shouldn't it be Will apologizing?

Percy pressed his lips against his shoulder.

"Don't sell yourself short, Will. You're not broken. You just had a lot of bad stuff happening to you. The Will _I_ know is a brave, strong person, full of love and care and warmth. A real looker, too. The pretty guy in the group, really."

Will shivered, but kept his gaze firmly away from Percy, knowing he was just saying that to cheer him up.

"It's true. You might be calling me gorgeous; and Jason is undoubtedly the handsome one we all want to show off to our families; and Nico might be the adorable, beautiful angel he keeps insisting he's not, but you're definitely the pretty one. What, with your pretty hair and your stunning eyes, and those _freckles_ …not to mention those _smiles_ that seem to light up the entire room." Percy insisted, and Will felt his face heating, stilling in his attempts to escape Percy's hold.

Percy kissed his shoulder again.

"Why are you saying that stuff, anyways?" Will mumbled evasively, keeping his gaze firmly on a spot far away, though he couldn't even say what he was looking at, all his concentration on his boyfriend behind him,

"So you realize it's the truth. I'm going to keep telling you that. Over and over again. Until you're sick of it and know it by heart and know it's true. Until you look at yourself and see all the things we see in you, all those things you should be seeing already."

"I don't need your pity." Will huffed, but Percy merely shook his head, the movement palpable due to the proximity.

"I'm not. I'm merely loving my boyfriend. Will, I know it takes a while for you to let us in and help you, but I want you to know I'll gladly go through that a million times, no, a _billion_ times, over and over and over again, just so I get to be there for you. You can try push us away all you want, but we're going to stay with you, anyways. Don't let him nor your fear of him nor his lies dictate your life, Will. Talk to us. Let us be there for you. Let us know about your worries so we can help. We'll be there for you, Will. We'll help you. We'll protect you." Percy assured him quietly, and while a part of Will wanted to argue about not needing protection or anybody babying him, he couldn't deny the words calmed him, soothed him, made him relax and…sort of feel better.

A bit.

"And…if you ever need somebody to hump you just because you want to, I'll gladly help out." Percy added, and Will's eyebrow twitched, his lips pursing.

"You just completely ruined it." He grumbled, pushing away from Percy to stomp off towards the bed, while Percy snickered and followed behind him like the dork he was.

"Aww, but I mean it! I'll do anything you want me to, no matter what, no matter how, no matter when. And if you need me to stop – you know the word."

Will huffed and let himself fall down on the bed facedown.

He knew.

The worst part was that Will _knew_.

Of course he knew they'd do that.

It was just that he couldn't deal with knowing they had to go through so much hassle and shit just for him, just because he had to be weird.

"That includes sex, by the way. If you really want to try, we can. You're not going to ruin anything, Will. No matter what happens. Even if you do decide to have sex, you're free to change your mind at any given point and break things off. We can and will _always_ stop. Same as I'd stop if Nico or Jason told me to, and same as I know they would stop if I needed them to, too."

What was it with the guys giving him so many pep talks lately?

He clearly remembered sitting on Jason's lap not too long ago and the two of them having a heart-to-heart.

Then there was his mental breakdown with Nico, closely followed by the one in his dream he still tried not to think nor talk about, much rather concentrating on the sweet bliss that had followed all the bad.

Now he was going through _this_ with Percy.

Were the Fates out to get him to get over all of his problems before he snuffed it?

How considerate of them.

"Why would _you_ ever need them to stop?" He asked skeptically as he sat up again, his arms around his legs once more, and Percy huffed.

"Don't act like it's impossible. There's days even I don't feel up for sex, you know?"

Yeah, he did, but so far the guys had managed to mostly catch each other at good moments, since they only really ever acted on their own libido when at least one other person showed interest.

Kind of fascinating, really.

"Sometimes I wonder what's going on in that pretty head of yours." Percy mused as he nuzzled his face against Will's shoulder again, and inched closer to his neck as 'inconspicuously' as possible.

Will relented and let go of his legs to lean back against him slightly, baring said neck a bit.

"Lots of thought processing and the management of the rest of my body to keep me functioning and alive, I'd guess. You know, usual brain activity and such. Same stuff that goes on in every other person's head." Will deadpanned, and Percy stilled for a moment.

"…And other times, I know I'll never figure you out, though that doesn't mean I'll stop trying. But, in all seriousness, Will, you're a giant medical _nerd_." His boyfriend very lovingly pointed out and buried his face at his neck.

Will chuckled weakly, patting his arm without looking back at him.

"Oh dear, you've got me all figured out." He joked, and Percy bit his neck gently.

"Yeah, yeah. So…does that mean humping is a yes or a no?"

Will groaned, now letting himself fall back entirely.

"Percy! Why do you…seriously, _stop bringing that up_!" He exclaimed, but to his dismay, Percy merely cackled against his skin, apparently fully aware of what he was doing to him.

"Why would I? I liked it. You usually don't let us _anywhere_ near your butt, I felt so special."

…Special, huh?

Will buried his face in his hands with a small groan.

"Shut up. Seriously, let's just forget that ever happened, alright?"

"Nooo, don't you dare! Unless, of course…" Percy started, and Will turned his head minimally to squint back at him, already knowing he didn't want to hear what he'd say next.

Percy's suddenly rather dirty grin only strengthened that belief.

Then, his boyfriend even wiggled his eyebrows at him, and Will scowled by default.

"Unless you want to try again? This time with knowing I'm awake, and with me knowing you want to? Probably makes for a _much_ better first hump-time."

"Say 'hump-time' _one more time_ , I dare you." Will grumbled, but only received a peck on the nose.

"I didn't hear a no."

 _Oh gods._

Will opened and closed his mouth with no words coming out, then he very pointedly turned away from Percy again, scowling at the rest of the world (a drawer) for pairing him up with this dork that seemed incapable of feeling flustered about these horribly awkward things, but could blush just fine when Jason had grabbed his butt at dinner.

(Which was, considering those two, an almost innocent touch.)

"Still can't hear a no." Percy pointed out, grin audible in his voice, and Will refused to grace him with a reply.

Percy's arms tugged him closer, and Will's heart seemed to miss a beat in his chest, just to triple in speed – which was bad, since Percy's arm was right over his chest, so he was _bound_ to feel that.

"Name a time and place and I'm all yours." Percy purred into his ear, and Will shivered _at the sensation_ , okay?

Not at the words.

Nope.

Not at all.

Never.

"You're already mine." He remarked as matter-of-factly as he could, but Percy wasn't moved, instead kissing the shell of his ear, and Will shivered again.

Wait, wait, wait.

Was Percy trying to _seduce_ him here?

"I know. I love it." Percy replied with a soft voice, and Will's face warmed, though this time not out of shame or embarrassment.

He considered his options for a moment as to what to reply, and the silence was filled with Percy kissing and nipping at his ear playfully, even though he had to know that did a lot more than just feel good to Will.

"What if…what if I do want to…you know…?" He tried hesitantly, knowing full well they had talked about this before, knowing full well the guys had assured him plenty enough times, knowing full well there was no real reason why he'd have to ask again, bring it up again, talk about this _again_ , but…

He just…they didn't _understand_ …

"We can try that, too. Your past does not define you, Will. It's understandable and perfectly fine if you say you don't want to bottom. But it's also perfectly fine if you say you're curious and want to give it a try. Even if we break it off, or you say afterwards it was only a one-time thing or whatever. You don't have to make up your mind _now_ or anything, either, sun-bug. Just…if we're making out, and you want to, or you want to, in general, then just say it, and I'm sure we'll work things out somehow. The guys will agree with me on that, I can already tell you that much." Percy replied, his voice still so soft and gentle, and Will soaked his words up like a sponge, holding onto them and trying to _believe_ them.

"You think so?" He heard himself asking, though he knew the question was dumb.

Percy kissed the side of his neck again.

"I know so. But, Will, remember you don't _have_ to. Do what makes you feel good, not what other people made you believe is what should happen."

Will looked down and gave a small nod.

"I…I know. I'd…I mean, I guess I _would_ like to…well…try. I'm just…"

Scared.

How many times was he going to admit to his fears around them?

"It's okay to be uncertain or undecided, sun-bug. I'm still uncertain of a lot of things, too. Like, do I like Jason? Do I love him? Or do I just want him to plow me into the mattress and-…you know what I mean." Percy trailed off sheepishly, and Will felt the strong urge to flick his forehead for _getting flustered_ about _that_ , but not about offering Will to…to… _hump_ him.

(Seriously, _what the fuck_?!)

He didn't, though.

Instead, he grinned to himself as he realized he was getting better at reading their emotions than they did, themselves.

However, _this_ was something they had to figure out for themselves, he wasn't going to spoil anything.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later, Gorgeous."

" _Mean_. And there I hoped you'd give me some clarity on the matter." Percy pouted, and Will's grin widened.

Nope.

Percy kept holding him, and his face didn't leave its place at the side of his neck, so Will kept leaning back against him as he gazed off into space, pondering their conversation, Percy's words, his own worries…

"Do you think I should tell them?" He asked out of the blue, and promptly cursed himself for it.

Poor Percy probably didn't even know what he was talking about.

"I mean, I never had the chance to really come out to them, did I now? Nor to you, for that matter. I just…you were the unfortunate soul who happened to say the wrong thing at the wrong time that made me spill way too much-…"

"I'd listen to it all over again if it helped you, Will. And to answer your question: If you _want_ to, then you can tell them." Percy cut in, and Will remained silent for a moment, considering his options.

"I…I really would have told you, you know? Especially if we had ended up together. Even if _he_ hadn't shown up. I'd have told you about it eventually." He mumbled, and Percy tightened his grip on him for a moment, seeming protective.

Talking about Kyle was never easy, with none of them.

Percy would become protective, Jason angry, and Nico always turned eerily quiet with a sort of menacing aura emanating from him.

Will couldn't blame them.

It wasn't easy for him, either.

"I know you would have." Percy said at long last, and kissed the side of his neck gently.

He said it with so much conviction, leaving no doubt he meant it, and Will found himself relaxing again, though he hadn't noticed tensing up.

"They know, too." Percy added quietly, and Will gazed down again.

"But they also already know what happened. So talking about it would be pointless, wouldn't it? Plus, what would I even say, Percy? I definitely don't want to tell them all the things I've told you. I still can't believe you can still look me in the face after…after all of that." Will mumbled, but Percy promptly started kissing along his neck again, determination and love swirling through him.

"I love you all the same, Will. No matter what you told me, and no matter what happened. I'll gladly listen to anything and everything else you need to get off your chest, and you know it. Just tell them what you want to tell them, sun-bug. They know how difficult this is for you."

Will wasn't convinced, though he wished he was.

"What if…"

"We'll still love you." Percy replied before he was even finished, and Will made a face.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

Percy merely shrugged.

"Doesn't change the fact we'll still love you."

"But what if-…"

"Still love you."

" _Percy_!" Will lamented, and his boyfriend cackled against his skin.

"Yes, my dear?"

Eww.

"Oh gods, don't say it like that. That reminds me of Nico's dad and his wife." Will retorted, and Percy snorted, which was equally funny and sort of disgusting against his neck.

"You think they're watching us from someplace in the Underworld?"

"Percy, please don't make me think of Nico's dad watching us, when we're in the middle of cuddling on a bed, and you're not wearing any pants." Will deadpanned, though he couldn't help think about Hades, anyways.

Especially his words, and the genuine _concern_ Will could have sworn he had seen on his face for a moment.

"Excuse you, but I'm wearing a perfectly fine pair of boxer shorts, I don't know what you're talking about." Percy retorted with an indignant huff, and Will rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Wonder if you'll describe them as a 'perfectly fine pair' to Nico's dad as well when he's giving you a talk about how you better not defile his cabin again."

That had been fun.

Then again, thinking about it, Percy had been wearing his fish boxer shorts back then, so it couldn't get much worse than that, to be honest.

Percy chuckled against his skin, then kissed it again.

"Meh. I'll just tell him Jason is doing all the defiling here. I wash my hands in innocence."

"You rarely wash your hands. Kind of disgusting, really."

"Wow. Harsh. Such harsh words from my own boyfriend. I'm hurt. _So_ hurt." Percy exclaimed dramatically, letting out a small, fake whine.

Will patted his arm in condolence.

"Aww, there, there. Just telling the truth, Gorgeous."

"Mean. But hey, since you're so honest right now, how about you tell me whether we can have a hump-time now or not." Percy shot back, and Will froze.

 _Percy_!

"Stop calling it hump-time! And what do you mean, _now_?!"

They had just been talking about _Hades_ and _them being watched by Hades_ , and Percy wanted to _hump_?!

"Then what should I call it? I'm not as creative as you are with words, sun-bug. I just call things what they are."

"You literally call me 'sun-bug' all the time, Percy." Will deadpanned, but that only made Percy coo and nuzzle his face back against the side of his neck.

"Yeah, well, it's cute! And you're cute. So, when the shoe fits…"

Oh gods.

Will felt his face flushing, even though he knew that was nothing that should make him feel as warm and fuzzy as it was.

"Shush. Fine, call it whatever you want. But _now_?!"

"Well, not _now_ -now. But… _now_ , you know?"

Will didn't know.

"Before the guys come back?" He guessed, feeling more confused than he probably should.

Percy shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind them being here, that's for you to decide."

Will had no idea whether he'd mind or not.

On a whim, he'd say he didn't mind, but then again he still couldn't quite wrap his mind around _actually letting anybody_ hump _him_ , so who knew what would bother him when that was actually happening.

"Do they know? What happened? I think it would be kind of weird for them to leave with me locked in the bathroom for unknown reasons, just to come back to us on the bed making out." Will put in doubtfully, but Percy shrugged.

"Sounds to me like a made-up-made-out sort of situation, which sounds pretty good to me. But, to ease your mind, I told them we seemed to have had a misunderstanding. They were quite understanding. Which, of course, is an _insult_. You and I do _not_ have that many misunderstandings. Jason had no right looking so sympathetic."

Always rambling about Jason in the weirdest moments.

But yeah, totally not in love, nope.

Will grinned to himself, then sighed and let himself fall back against Percy again.

"Well, alright then. How do you want me?" He asked, tilting his head back to gaze up at Percy, who had his same thoughtful expression for a moment longer, before Will's words sunk in.

Then, he looked like a child on Christmas Eve.

So adorable.

"Really? You sure?"

"Green." Will replied with a roll of his eyes, knowing that question would come at least three more times if he just said 'Yes' or any form thereof.

Percy's expression changed to something slightly predatory, and Will shivered, but just out of anticipation.

Oh gods, what _was_ he getting himself into?

He could only hope the guys would either get back _before_ anything happened, or _after_.

At least, he very deeply hoped that he'd never have to explain this.

Ever.

...

"They're at it again." Piper pointed out amused as she took a bite of her breakfast, and Annabeth rolled her eyes automatically.

"Why am I not surprised?" She asked dryly, though she more meant the fact that her girlfriend had nothing better to do than to watch the guys being sappy and embarrassing with each other.

"You know you love it. Come on, they're adorable."

"I will not refer to my ex-boyfriend _and_ your ex-boyfriend as adorable." She muttered darkly, glancing around the dining pavilion for a moment to check who else was nearby, and once more noticed Clovis seemed absent.

Hm, strange.

Of course, it wasn't that worrisome for the son of Hypnos to not be at lunch, but she had also not seen him at breakfast – not to mention that she hadn't seen him at all the past few days.

She'd have to check on him later, just to make sure.

After the whole mess with Kyle, Annabeth had long decided to rather be safe than sorry.

"But they _are_. Just look at them. Come on, stop your brooding. It's a wonderful day, let's enjoy it." Piper insisted with _that_ smile on her face that made it hard for Annabeth to resist.

Not that she ever really tried, but her girlfriend didn't have to know that.

Annabeth sighed and turned her head to look towards the guys.

Great, they were doing the heart-eyes again.

"You know you're happy for them."

Annabeth frowned slightly.

"I am. I just wished they'd be more serious about this whole situation. Instead, they act like they're on their honeymoon."

They really did.

"Jealous? Come on, let them have their fun. You know Jason will have to leave soon. They're trying to make the most of their time." Piper reasoned, and Annabeth shot her a pointed look.

"You know as well as I do that there is _no_ way any of those three are going to let Jason go alone. I'm a bit surprised Jason hasn't said anything about that, yet. Then again, if _anybody_ believes he'll leave alone, it's he himself."

She absolutely wouldn't put it past the guys to wait until the last possible moment to actually let Jason know, too.

Or they expected him to know already.

Probably the latter.

Hopeless fools.

"Well, then they're making the most of the peace and quiet." Piper tried, and Annabeth sighed.

Of course, she _could_ point out how there was no 'peace and quiet' when the Camp was preparing for another war, and there were still fourteen people and three satyrs missing.

But she knew Piper knew all that already, and she knew what Piper meant, and she _knew_ that it wasn't the guys' fault that she was in a bad mood today.

(That was all that _one kid's fault_ , who had started a whole rant about who had first discovered the earth was round. Seriously, there should be a law passed that forbid people to insist on their opinion before they actually did any research on the matter.)

So Annabeth decided to stay quiet, instead glancing back at the guys, who were currently at the fire to sacrifice some of their food.

"Look how happy Jason looks. I'm so glad they managed to work things out." Piper said softly, and Annabeth made a noncommittal sound.

"At least he's keeping his hands to himself." She grumbled around a mouthful of toast, watching how Nico and Will moved back to the Apollo table, with Will's hand under Nico's shirt to stroke along his lower back, apparently.

Then, she glanced back at Percy and Jason – and scowled, nearly dropping her toast.

"I take it all back." She grumbled, while Piper started laughing in glee.

There they were, in broad daylight, _in plain view_ , and instead of doing anything reasonable, Jason had put his hand in Percy's back pocket, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

In fact, for a moment Annabeth even considered this to be 'normal' for them, but she clearly saw the way Percy jumped slightly, and she could very well see his quickly reddening ears, even if he didn't look her way.

Jason, however, seemed to think this perfectly normal, because he merely grinned smugly to himself and kept his hand right there, even as they both moved back to the other two, right past Annabeth and Piper.

"Yeah, but do _you_ think I'm slutty, Jason?" She heard Percy ask in a quiet voice, and shared _that_ look with Piper again, who looked as unimpressed as she felt.

"Percy, there's _no such thing_ as 'slutty'. Stop letting dumb stuff like that get to you. Have I ever given you reason to…" Jason countered just as quietly, and Annabeth and Piper both turned their heads as they passed, watching them sitting down next to their boyfriends at the Apollo table.

The hand disappeared from Percy's back pocket with a clearly visible last squeeze, then Jason moved his arm around Percy's waist instead, the two of them still muttering, while Will shot them a frown, then looked around with a dark scowl as if to look for whoever had caused that conversation, in the first place.

Those guys.

And then there were still people insisting this was all just for show or some passing craze; that they didn't _really_ care for one another.

Nope, they were serious.

Dead serious.

As serious as Will had been when he had happily sung away about his own death.

Annabeth scowled again.

She _still_ hadn't managed to find out more about that.

The music notes and lyrics had mysteriously disappeared, and Will had only played once more at the Camp Fire, but not that song.

Nor did he want to talk about it, as Annabeth had had to find out the hard way.

Seriously, who'd expect Will to be quite this good at running away in the most inconspicuous ways?

She of course knew that the reason _why_ he could do that was anything but pleasant – Kyle was still fresh on all their minds, after all – but she still had to admit she would be impressed…if it wasn't for the fact that it annoyed her to no end.

Since there was close to no way for her to ever get close to him outside the infirmary – what with the guys immediately by his side like his guard dogs – she had tried to approach him in the infirmary, but he had always, _always_ , managed to switch rooms, or retreat to the back (which she was still prohibited from entering ever since Kyle), or he got some of his siblings to 'help' her and then busied himself with some new patients until she left.

So then, she had tried to get some more information through Jason, but that had only confirmed her theory that the guys knew _nothing_.

Which made everything all the worse.

"You're brooding again." Piper pointed out with a small sigh, her hand reaching out to tap the spot between Annabeth's eyebrows, and she sighed.

"Just wondering what I'm going to do with them. They're hopeless."

They really were.

Seriously, Will had sung _that_ , and _none of the guys questioned it_?!

There they always acted as if they were so tough and would notice anything that could possibly cause harm, but they didn't notice when their own boyfriend was hinting at his own death?

He had sounded as if he had accepted it, too.

Annabeth had never had that great of a relationship with Will, but she still liked the guy, especially since she had so far always been able to depend on him for anything, may it be the carriage or his healing skills or just his opinion (which usually was quite reasonable and interesting, to be honest).

Plus, he seemed to play a key role in whatever was happening, so he couldn't go and accept his death just like that, okay?

"I know they are. Are you willing to accept my help now?" Piper asked, but Annabeth shook her head stubbornly.

No, nothing of that.

"You know what the others are going to do, Pipes. It would be like throwing a juicy piece of meat to a pack of hungry wolves. The kids are the wolves. Our guys are the meat." She repeated what she had told her the past times she had brought it up, and Piper huffed.

"Well, I'll have you know quite a few of my siblings are vegetarians, too. Come on, it would just be us, them, the Aphrodite cabin, and _probably_ the Apollo cabin."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend.

"Where did the Apollo cabin come from, sweetheart?"

The _last_ time Piper had brought this up, the Apollo cabin definitely hadn't been on the list.

Piper played with a strand of her choppy hair, looking unbelievably innocent.

"They…might have approached me…for something similar?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at her, and Piper sighed.

"Okay, I might have been overheard talking about it with Mitchell, and they might have been more enthusiastic about the idea than originally expected."

Oh great.

Annabeth groaned.

"Piper, you know the Apollo cabin! They're bound to tell the Ares cabin, and they'll tell the Demeter kids, and those will let the Hecate kids know, which will tell the Hermes cabin. And the Hermes cabin is going to tell _everybody_."

Piper still played with her hair, acting innocent.

"You're exaggerating. I'm sure we'll be fine. Plus, the more, the merrier, right?"

"Piper, you have never participated in a _Truth or Dare_ game with the Hermes cabin. They play dirty. Not to mention the Apollo kids will be able to jinx you if you don't speak 100% of the truth. You're going down, Pipes. You won't even be able to look twice, and either you'll have to do something super crazy and mortifying, or all your secrets will be revealed before midnight."

"Sounds like somebody is speaking from experience." Her girlfriend teased, and Annabeth nudged her shoulder with her own.

"Smartass. Well, whatever. At this rate, you won't ever get the guys to agree to it, anyways. Will knows I want to talk to him, else he wouldn't flee the moment we're alone, so he'd never agree in the first place. But with him knowing _the whole Camp_ would participate, he'll do a perfect job at letting the others know just what a bad idea that would be." She reasoned, and Piper sighed, nudging her back.

"Alright, no playing with the whole Camp. But what if it really is just us? It just takes your okay, then I'll tell my siblings to get the sleep-over into motion. The Apollo cabin got our backs, they said, so, really, it would just be us…with Lou Ellen and Cecil, maybe…"

Why was that list growing each time Piper started with it?

Maybe Annabeth should have agreed two weeks ago.

"I highly doubt it's a good idea to confront Will about his prophetic dreams right in front of his overly protective boyfriends, his siblings, his friends, _and_ my siblings. Plus, I highly doubt it will be anything that would make for a good and fun night." She deadpanned, and turned her head to check whether Will had heard.

Will's scandalized look into her direction said yes.

"Well, fine, then how about you don't confront him, and we simply have a nice night together, anyways? He already knows you want to talk to him about it, and he should know by now you mean no harm, so who knows, maybe a fun night is going to help him come to you?" Piper suggested, and Annabeth raised an eyebrow at Will, who shot her a look that _clearly_ said 'I'd like to see you try'.

Know what? Challenge accepted.

"Alright, but only the guys, us, the Apollo and Aphrodite kids…and Lou Ellen and Cecil, if you must." She agreed, and watched Will's face paling, before Nico nudged him and probably asked what was wrong, so the blonde hurriedly turned his back to them again and shook his head wildly, stuffing his face with…whatever it was he was eating.

Poor guy.

"Really? Awesome! Erm…would it be okay if Leo came, too?"

Annabeth groaned and moved to let her forehead drop on the table.

"What am I going to do with you?" She asked as Piper cackled quietly, and her girlfriend stroked through her hair affectionately.

"Aww, don't be like that. You know you love me. I'm irresistible, after all."

"I do, and you are, but you're also insufferable by times."

"How mean." Piper commented wryly, then kissed the side of her face, before getting up and ready to leave.

Annabeth sighed.

Lunchtime was over, apparently.

She made to follow her girlfriend, and immediately received a slightly concerned look from Piper.

"You don't have to come with. I'll really only let Alec or Austin know so they can get everything planned out. You can go back to your cabin if you want and lay down a bit. Don't think I haven't noticed you didn't sleep last night."

Trust Piper to notice that.

Annabeth sighed again, tugging the hairband out of her hair to re-do her ponytail.

(Mainly just to have something to do with her hands for a moment.)

Well, there _was_ a lot to think about, and even more to _do_.

Jason and the others did part of the thinking when it was about where to go next and how to go about the whole thing now that the monsters were back and at it with their slaughter, but there were many more things to mull over than that.

Like Kyle and his possible connection to all of this, for example.

Not to mention the other people involved with him – who they were, where they had come from, where they were now.

Or his godly parent – a question that gave Annabeth headaches ever since it first crossed her mind.

So many things she needed answers to, yet so little information to work with.

She had tried so hard to find anything and everything related to Kyle that was still here at Camp, but the guy had never gone on any quests in his time here, and there had been no possessions left behind – at least none anybody knew of – so that had been a dead end.

Annabeth still wished she had acted faster.

Somehow, the moment she had seen him again, her alarm bells had rung, and something about him had rubbed her the wrong way, making her skin crawl and her mind buzz with thoughts of ' _where have I felt this sensation before_ ', but so far, she hadn't even been able to figure _that_ out.

She only knew she hadn't felt that ominous back when he had been at Camp before.

She had never really talked to him much back then, and he had more avoided her than anything else, but he had never struck her as suspicious, much less a danger to the Campers.

Even she could be wrong sometimes.

Though she really did wish for things to be different in this case.

There had been so many indicators she had overlooked at the time, it was shameful; even though she knew there was no changing of the past anymore.

She'd have to live with this guilt and make the best of the present and the future to avoid the same mistake again.

Which…brought her back to Clovis.

He hadn't been the same ever since Kyle had nearly murdered him, but Annabeth had thought he was getting better…

He had eaten more, and his siblings had told her his sleep was getting better again, so, all in all, everything should have been fine by now.

(Or as fine as it could get.)

Needless to say, he still refused to talk about what had really happened in the forest, nor about where exactly Kyle had kept him, but even Annabeth had to admit that was more than reasonable.

She wouldn't like anybody prying about her time in Tartarus either, after all.

At that thought, Annabeth shook her head.

"It's okay. I wouldn't be able to sleep right now, anyways. Plus, it's been quite a while since we last had some time to walk around together for a bit."

Sure, she could also sit down and get some work done, but with progress so incredibly slow at the moment, she doubted it would really make any difference.

Also, Annabeth really wasn't lying when she said it had been way too long since she had really gotten to spend much time with her girlfriend.

It was so unfair, the guys had _three_ empty cabins they could use at any given time.

Piper and Annabeth had _none_.

…Alright, maybe Annabeth was a tiny bit jealous.

"Also, if I'm here, Clarisse will only pop up out of nowhere again and ask for permission to wreak havoc on the kids. Again. You and I both know she would. _Again_." She added, and Piper shot her an amused look, though she took her hand and tugged her along with her.

"Yeah, yeah. You know you don't really mind, else you wouldn't be giving her permission every single time." Piper retorted, and Annabeth knew she couldn't fight that statement.

Though sometimes she wondered why they were all doing so much to make sure the guys had their peace.

After all, who had the before mentioned three cabins to themselves?

Who got to cuddle each night without any siblings breathing down their necks with snickers or hidden cameras (fucking Malcolm should have been smart enough to know that was a horrible idea. She was so going to get him back for that.)?

Alright, she might be more than a bit jealous.

Could anybody blame her, though?

"Can we stop by the Hypnos cabin at some point?" She asked to change the topic, and Piper shot her a knowing look, her thumb stroking over her hand in a comforting sort of way.

"Sure thing. And hey, once we've done that, and gotten everything else into motion, how about I kick out all my siblings and we lounge around in there for a while? I could read something to you." Piper offered, and her words sounded like Elysium to Annabeth.

Plus, Piper had a great voice, and she could read much better than Annabeth could, at least out loud (which was utterly unfair, by the way).

She sighed, then smiled at her girlfriend, who looked back at her with those pretty eyes and that smile she would never be able to resist.

(Not that she'd ever try.)

"Well, if you're already offering like that, how could I possibly say no?"

Piper beamed at her, and Annabeth guessed she could understand why the guys were the way they were.

Though the whole cabin-thing was still eternally unfair.

...

"Chores are stupid." Percy sulked, his lips forming a pout as he dumped their old bed sheets into the laundry basket Nico had just emptied ten minutes ago.

"Stop whining, Percy, you know they have to be done." Jason chided unimpressed, and Percy's pouting intensified.

There he had thought he had a loving, caring boyfriend who'd _surely_ have mercy on Percy after all the drama this morning.

He had almost had a heart attack, after all!

First when Will had rubbed against him and started low-key humping him (which had almost killed him because _wow_ ), and then once more when Will had suddenly _bolted_ , stammering apologies Percy still couldn't quite understand, and locking himself in the bathroom as if Percy had just assaulted him.

Seriously, for a long moment he had thought he _had_ somehow assaulted him without meaning to, or at the very least very badly misunderstood something – and given their doings, his fears had been more than reasonable, and thus all the more plausible, which had made everything even worse.

It didn't matter that everything had solved itself in the end, or that the morning had turned out rather…interesting (and oh so pleasing); Percy had _still_ been shit-scared, and Jason should _definitely_ show at least some sort of pity on him.

But apparently, Will was the only one who Jason ever had mercy on.

Well, and Nico, but they were all soft when it came to their favorite Italian.

"But why do I have to do _so much_?" He lamented loudly, and Jason shot him another unimpressed look as he tugged out clean sheets and threw them towards Percy, who caught them with ease, his pout still perfectly in place.

"Percy, you have _three_ things to do." Jason reminded him, and Percy whined.

"Yeah, but those are _big_ things!"

He had to _change_ the sheets, _make the bed_ , _and_ he had to dust _all_ the surfaces!

"You're such a child sometimes." Jason remarked with a small shake of his head, and Percy made a face.

"I think you simply don't like me. That's what it is, isn't it? Because you don't like me, you have me do all the horrible stuff, while Will gets away with just picking up all the stuff off the ground." He complained, though there was no way in hell he'd ever want to switch with Will.

Seriously, who was the idiot always dumping everything on the floor?

Thinking about it some more, Percy frowned when he realized _he_ was the one usually doing that.

Oh. Oops.

Jason moved over to him with a pointed look on his face, his fingers on Percy's chin in a heartbeat to tilt his head upwards slightly.

"Quite the contrary, Percy. I like you so much, I trust you to be the most capable of the chores I gave you. Now, are you going to keep standing in the bathroom door and whine, or will you get done with your work so we can all get back to more pleasurable activities?" Jason asked, and Percy tried so hard to keep pouting, but then Jason's finger brushed over his bottom lip and he was all but putty in his hands, craving a kiss more than for anybody to take over his chores.

Jason seemed to read his mind, already leaning down with a small smile hushing over his face before their lips met in a surprisingly slow, but disturbingly deep and drawn-out kiss.

Percy gasped softly at the sensation, wishing he could wrap his arms around Jason, wishing he had already made the bed so he could tug him over there, wishing Jason actually did that picking-him-up-and-pushing-him-against-a-wall-thing that Jason had done with Will and Nico in the past, but never with Percy.

All too soon, Jason pulled away again though, and all Percy registered for a moment was that he had managed to keep holding onto the clean sheets in his arms, which was probably something to be proud of, given his state of mind.

He kept following Jason's lips to press against them two (three, four, five…ten…) more times in timid pecks, and by the time he gave his boyfriend free, Jason had that small smile on his face again, his gaze so wonderfully gentle and soft and affectionate.

(Just the way Percy liked it.)

"Okay." He whispered pliantly, knowing Jason was right.

Plus, it wasn't as if he _really_ had anything against the chores, nor the chores Jason kept assigning him.

He was simply bored, and the kids had been horrible today during training, so he needed _some_ sort of outlet, okay?

Jason gave a small nod and stroked through his hair again, then Nico interrupted their little moment by pushing the front door open and filing in with a loud groan and Italian swearing, along with a basket full of freshly cleaned and dried laundry, and Jason went to help him, while Percy huffed out a small laugh and moved towards the bed to finish what he had started.

He glanced towards Will, but he was still busy moving about and picking up the various items off the ground, his back to Percy, and Percy could _clearly_ see him checking each and every object with utmost interest, most definitely drawing this out so Jason wouldn't assign any other chore to him.

What a horrible person.

Percy loved him.

"Jason, Will is slacking off!" He called towards Jason, who let out a loud, unimpressed sigh, while Will made a sound of complaint.

"You're so full of shit, Percy! This is it, you're my _least favorite_ boyfriend!"

Percy made a strangled sound of disbelief and horror, clutching at his chest as he whirled around.

" _What?!_ " He cried, then turned away to fake-sob and sink to his knees, while Will started groaning and cursing behind him.

"Will, that wasn't very nice." Nico chided, and Percy _wholeheartedly agreed_!

Will had only said that because of _those freaking kids_ that had given Percy such a headache today.

How could they _ask_ them that, anyways?

Who in their right mind went up to a poly couple and asked _which one was whose favorite_?!

Who _did_ that?!

Of course, that wasn't all they had asked, and far from all that had bothered Percy, but it was one of the few things he hadn't tried to talk out with the guys yet.

"Oh, come on, I didn't _mean_ it! Percy, you _know_ I didn't!" Will exclaimed, but Percy kept up his act, trying to stop himself from grinning triumphantly when he heard the telltale sound of Will hurrying over – instead, he wailed and threw up his arms and started hugging the bed post.

"No! You _totally_ meant it! And there I thought you loved me! Bet _this bed post_ loves me more than you!"

He could hear Jason mumbling something under his breath, but ignored it, instead focused on pouting instead of grinning as Will wrapped himself around him from behind.

"Of course I love you, you freaking drama queen. Come on, of course you're my favorite."

" _What_." Nico cut in from where he was putting their laundry away, and Percy bit the inside of his cheeks as to not start laughing – something he knew he was only tempted to do because he knew Nico was the _last_ person who'd ever seriously start a fight over this.

"Shush, Nico. I'm trying to woo Percy into forgiveness." Will hissed, and Percy wailed dramatically.

"Well, you just ruined it! See? You were only saying that!" He exclaimed, and Will groaned.

"Percy, I can _feel_ the glee inside you, you know? Do you always thrive on drama? Seriously, you could have just told me you were bored, I'd have thought of something to keep your mind occupied." Will remarked instead of replying to anything Percy had just said, which was absolutely _rude_.

Percy found he didn't mind whatsoever, instead dropping his act to grin broadly and turn around in Will's hold with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah? Like what? I'm almost done with the bed, you know…"

"Watch out, Will, he's trying to seduce you." Both Jason and Nico called over from their wardrobe, and Percy glowered at them both darkly.

Traitors.

Then again, it wasn't as if he made any secret out of what he wanted.

"Yeah, I gathered as much. No chance though, Gorgeous. Admit it, you're just trying to get out of having to dust the surfaces."

Damn it, he had been found out.

Percy put on an exaggeratedly scandalized face.

"Would I ever?" He asked incredulously, and suddenly felt all three of this boyfriends shoot him the very same knowing, unimpressed look.

"Yes." All three of them replied, and Percy was back to pouting.

So unfair!

Will huffed, then moved his hand through Percy's hair, tugging on it lightly to tug him into a quick kiss.

Eh, okay, he could forgive him, he guessed.

"Come on, let's finally get done with the chores, so Jason will stop complaining about the place looking like trash. Want me to help you with the dusting?" Will asked as he pulled back, and Percy wished just one of them would have enough mercy on him one day to _not_ pull away so quickly.

Though he guessed now wasn't the time to get carried away – even though, in his humble opinion, it was _always_ time to get carried away kissing his boyfriends.

Resigning himself to his fate, he turned away from his so wonderfully warm and perfect boyfriend with a heavy sigh to resume his task of putting on the sheets.

"Nah, it's okay. You know I don't mean half of my whining, anyways." He brushed off, and Will stroked over his lower back for a moment, before he stepped away from him and moved back over to where he had been earlier.

"Oh, I know. Though I stand by my word that there are much better ways to get rid of boredom than by whining. That's too much focus on the bad things, you know? You should always focus on the good stuff. It's important never to lose sight of that." Will said wisely, and while he had a grin on his face, Percy felt as if he was talking from experience.

He also sounded the tiniest bit worried, which in turn worried Percy.

"I know. Hey, I'm dating you three. I'm happy. Don't you think I'll ever forget that." He assured with a lopsided grin, and felt all three of them looking at him again, though this time their expressions were gentle and affectionate.

They continued working in comfortable silence, only occasionally mentioning things at the side or – in Nico's and Jason's cases – commenting on their clothes, and how difficult they were to sort out.

Percy couldn't see how, since most of their laundry consisted of the regular Camp shirts, anyways, and nobody cared who wore whose in that case.

Not that they ever cared who wore whose clothes, in general.

If it fit, it was good to wear.

(Which made Nico the luckiest, since he fit all their clothing, which Percy was only slightly envious of.)

Percy finished making the bed, then decided to 'coincidentally' start dusting right where Will was, hoping for maybe a quick kiss or _at the very least_ some physical contact like their hands brushing together.

He was a needy person, okay?

Will didn't disappoint, already reaching out for him before Percy was even there, and without even as much as looking at him, as if he had sensed him coming closer.

Percy moved closer happily, and Will put his arm around him to stroke over his back and side, his eyes glued to the shelf as he seemed to count the DVDs.

Or maybe he was trying to think of which ones were missing.

Percy leaned against him and moved his face to the side of Will's head, inhaling his summery scent as inconspicuously as possible.

Ha. Recharge. He was perfectly fine now. Life was great.

"Need any help?" He asked quietly, and Will glanced sideways at him with a small smile tugging on his lips.

"You know, I just love how you…eh, whatever. Sure, want to help me find 'Finding Nemo'? I found the case, but the disc is gone." His boyfriend informed him – and Percy instantly wailed, all good in the world forgotten as he stepped back and clutched his face in horror.

" _My_ 'Finding Nemo'?!"

"By the gods." Will muttered under his breath at Percy's display of utmost misery and despair.

He was about to say something – when he _didn't_ , and Percy found his eyes drawn to Will immediately, noting the suddenly dazed and distant look in his glazed over eyes and the tension in his shoulders.

What…?

"Capture the flag…" Will mumbled – so quietly that Percy could only hear it because he was leaning close to check on him, to see what was wrong.

Percy frowned, already opening his mouth to ask, when the sound of fast-approaching footsteps outside caught his attention.

His stomach lurched, and his hands grabbed hold of his boyfriend automatically, who was blinking rapidly and apparently snapped out of whatever it was that had just happened.

Jason and Nico stopped in the middle of their work, too, and Percy didn't have to look around to know they were also staring at the door, trying to determine whether the footsteps were directed towards them.

The last time somebody had run like that, it had been Annabeth to tell them the monsters were back, and Percy did _not_ want to get any similar messages right now.

His grip on Will tightened, but Will didn't stop him, instead moving closer to place his hands on Percy's chest, the warmth so soothing and comforting, it never ceased to amaze Percy.

"Calm down, it's just-…" Will started, but then there was a rapid knocking on the door, and Percy made a small sound.

Any bad news, and he was going to take his guys and lock the four of them in the bathroom and act as if they hadn't heard and weren't home.

Nico moved to get the door, as he always did when he had the chance, and Percy held his breath as he watched and dreaded, cursing the fact that he and Will were in this corner of the room, because that meant he wouldn't be able to see _who_ was at the door – though at the same time, this was great, because it meant he could hide his Will without anybody knowing they were even there, if worst came to worst.

"Percy. Geez, _relax_. Nothing bad. Everything is fine." Will said quietly as he stroked over his chest, and Percy shot him a small, doubtful look.

Which definition of 'fine'? _His_ definition, or _Will's_?

"Cecil?" Nico asked partly confused, partly relieved, and Percy tried to come up with a plausible explanation as to what _Cecil_ wanted from them.

Maybe Will had agreed on spending more time with him and Lou Ellen, and was here to pick him up? No, couldn't be, else Will would have told them; he was much better in remembering such stuff than Percy and Nico were, after all.

"Eh, you're dressed? Guess I caught you at a good moment then when you're not at it." Percy heard him say, and frowned at Will, inwardly wondering just what people thought they were _doing_ in here all the time.

Because they surely weren't having enough sex to warrant such statements.

"We're doing the chores." Nico replied hesitantly and took a step back, allowing the son of Hermes inside, though Percy didn't see him coming in.

Will stroked over his chest again, slow and deliberate, a silent 'It's okay' that made Percy let go and relax – then his blonde stepped away from him and moved over towards the door.

"Hey Cecil. What's up?" He asked loudly, and Percy jumped slightly, just to find himself following Will almost automatically.

Jason seemed to be torn out of his stupor as well, since he appeared at the door as well to greet their guest.

"Can't complain. Well, I _would_ complain, but Lou forbid it. It's all good though. How are you guys holding up?" Cecil asked good-naturedly, though it was obvious the question was mostly directed at Will.

Percy saw Will stiffening slightly and inwardly cringed, wondering whether things would ever be the same for them again.

Ever since Cecil had (involuntarily) caused that scene in the dining pavilion with Kyle around, things had been a bit difficult between the two of them – or rather, the _three_ of them, since Lou Ellen belonged to their little group, too.

(Even though she had taken the whole thing much better than Cecil had, for whatever reason.)

It was sad that they barely spent any time together anymore, even Percy – who had never really talked to them, nor particularly _cared_ about them – had to admit that. He knew how important they were to Will, after all, and that they had been his friends – _good_ friends – long before the guys had been.

Will had spent maybe two or three days just with those two ever since Kyle had left, and he _had_ seemed as if he had enjoyed himself, at least as far as Percy could tell – but that had been all, and nothing compared to how much Will had hung out with them before, even Percy knew that.

Still, he was confident they'd be able to make it past this – once Cecil _finally stopped looking at Will as if he was a hurt puppy_.

"We're alright. So, how come you're here?" He asked bluntly, and Will shot him a scolding look, lips still parted to utter a reply that was now redundant.

Yeah, well, Percy couldn't help it. He couldn't stand people making his boyfriend uncomfortable by looking at him as if he was broken goods.

They were trying so hard to get Will to see past that and _heal_ , he didn't want _Cecil_ to come and ruin that by being stupid.

If Cecil noticed his rather impolite directness, he didn't show it, instead shrugging and grinning as he scratched the back of his head.

"Funny story, actually. You know how you've been training the newbs and the kids still in desperate need for training? Well, the _older_ campers decided now was the _perfect_ time to complain and get together and rave about the Capture the Flag games that had been paused due to all the new arrivals and all the work inside Camp." Cecil started explaining – and Percy froze, gaze hushing over to Will immediately.

 _Capture the flag?_

How had Will known? So, wait, he could tell the future now?

Why was it _Will_ could see the future, but Rachel as the official oracle still claimed she couldn't see anything of the like at all?

Once more, Percy desperately wanted to know what was going on – mostly so he could stop it before it began (if it wasn't too late already) and keep his guys safe and sound.

He was also sick of not-knowing, and of the gods _always_ being behind everything that ever went wrong, because he just _knew_ it was their fault – and seriously, Percy had absolutely had _enough_ of that bullshit.

It took him a moment to realize Cecil was talking again (or still?) and he tried as best as he could to listen.

"So, of course, the other kids started complaining about not getting to play, and then _somebody_ took it to Chiron, who was of course all for the idea, big surprise. Well, long story short, it was decided we should all do a trial run today, _now_ , out of nowhere, with all the jaded kids going like 'Are you fucking kidding me', and all the newbs thinking this is going to be the best thing in the world. I was about to sneak away as inconspicuously as possible – because, hey, this would have been _the_ perfect chance to get some ground in my everlasting competition against the Stoll brothers – but then Annabeth took me aside and said I should inform you guys, because Chiron is _bound_ to want you around, and she didn't want just anybody coming over here and barging in. Don't know what made her think I was a better choice for that, but I guess I don't mind. Cabin looks quite cozy on the inside, I'm surprised." Cecil rambled away, and Percy had to concentrate hard in order to follow, though he wasn't sure whether it was so difficult because of his ADHD, his distracting thoughts, or simply because of the way Cecil talked.

Nico frowned, mumbling a quiet 'Thanks? I guess?' as he glanced around at the interior of their cabin, and Will laughed next to Percy.

"What? Don't tell me you were scared of _the cabin_ , Cecil. This place is awesome. Though you should have totally seen Nico's room in the Underworld. You'd have loved it."

Percy agreed, though he didn't know why they would bring Cecil there.

"I think I'll pass, thanks. But, you up for it? They're currently splitting up the cabins, it's quite the madness. The Aphrodite cabin declared war on us – the Hermes cabin, I mean – again, and the Ares cabin that used to back us up is now siding with Athena because Clarisse wants to stay on Annabeth's good side for whatever reason. You guys will be on my team, right?" Cecil asked, looking partly hopeful and partly expectant, and Percy's first impulse was to refuse and slam the door shut in his face.

He liked Capture the Flag, but did they have to participate _now_?

In that case, he'd gladly dust this place instead – and their other cabins, too.

Now that he thought about it, it had been _ages_ since he had last been inside the Poseidon cabin, he was _bound_ to have plenty of cleaning up to do in there.

Percy was about to say as much, when Will ever so lovingly elbowed him in the side and stepped forward as he gave a small nod to both Nico and Jason, who had turned to him in question with questioning looks.

Funny, how they all turned towards Will when it was usually Jason making the decisions.

Percy pondered that as he rubbed his side with a pout, inwardly crying – though he wouldn't do that in front of _Cecil_.

"Sure, why not? Though I'll stay out of the game and act as emergency medic, because we all know you'll need it. So I can't really be on 'your' team, sorry." Will announced cheerfully enough, and Percy watched Nico narrowing his eyes at his boyfriend, probably trying to determine how genuine he was.

Good luck with that.

"Well, it doesn't sound like we have much of a choice in the matter. We'll have to play, unless we want to get into trouble, and if the Ares and Athena cabin are working together, it makes sense to put at least two of us in the other team." Jason mused, and Percy scowled by default.

Another choice taken from them, how nice.

"I don't want to be alone on the opposing team." Nico immediately cut in, looking troubled.

"What?" Percy asked, wondering where _that_ had suddenly come from, before Jason's words made sense.

"We're not splitting up." He agreed, shooting Jason a look that said he'd love to see anybody try.

Sadly, he caught the way Will tensed and looked away, his lips a thin line.

No, they would _not_ split up.

No way.

It wouldn't make any _sense_!

They wouldn't _fight_ each other!

Training was different, but Capture the Flag was supposed to be _the real deal_ , and Percy was _not_ going to raise his weapon against his boyfriends. Ever.

"I hope not." Jason muttered with a shrug, apparently not half as bothered about this as Percy was, but Percy knew better than to pick a fight now, especially since Will had his hand on the small of his back once more, and the warmth made it difficult to focus on the momentary rush of annoyance.

"We can decide that when we're there. Come on, we should hurry, else I'll get a shitty position in the game and get crushed by an onslaught of newbs trying to prove themselves." Cecil lamented, motioning for them to follow as Will nudged them to grab their jackets and put on their shoes.

Percy huffed, absolutely _not_ pleased with how things were playing out.

The day could have been so nice.

Sure, training had been hell, the kids were hell, everything was stupid and pointless and the air was reeking of the unknown and even less pleasant things, but hell, it _could have been so nice_.

Why couldn't it be nice?

Hadn't they had enough fighting after two wars?

Would they _ever_ find peace?

Will pulled his hand away, and Percy felt cold and lost again.

Maybe he should take one out of Will's book and lock himself in the bathroom.

He'd _love_ to see Chiron try and enter the cabin to get him out – then again, Hades didn't like him, so he'd probably let the Centaur in no problem, just to spite Percy.

"Percy?" Jason asked, appearing at his side and moving a hand through his hair as his gaze bore into Percy's, as if he was trying to see right through him.

Percy tried half-heartedly to put on a smile.

"Guess I found an excuse not to do the dusting." He joked, but Jason didn't take the bite, instead moving his hand to the side of his face, his thumb stroking over his cheek for a moment.

"Guess so. No worries though, I'm sure we'll be back in no time, so you can just do it later." He said at last, though it didn't look as if that was what he had really wanted to say.

Percy made a face.

"That's…great. Very reassuring. Thanks, man. I…can't wait to get to the dusting, yeah…"

Jason shot him a pointed look as he pulled away and moved towards the door, holding it open for him like the gentleman he was to let him go outside first, while Nico and Will were already next to Cecil, listening to whatever he was babbling about now.

"I'd hope so. The sooner we get done, the sooner we can get started on that movie night Nico has been hinting at over and over again. Come on, you and I both know he'd love it if we actually did that for him." Jason pointed out, and Percy considered that for a moment.

A movie night didn't sound half bad, actually.

"Yeah? Well, what movie do you have in mind for it?" He asked, then blinked when he felt Jason threading their fingers together at his side.

Jason usually didn't hold his hand, especially not like that.

It wasn't as if they _never_ held hands, of course, but…for him to be the one to immediately initiate it and with that dumb-but-cute smile on his face, too…

Percy found his face warming and a small smile tugging on his own lips, and his heart fluttered in his chest in that rather nice way it so often did around his guys.

(In fact, he had already wondered whether that might not actually be a bad thing and a sign there was something wrong, but Will had to have felt it before and had yet to mention he was dying, so he guessed he was good for now.)

"I'm sure anything will be fine. Do you have a movie you'd like to watch?" Jason asked curiously, and Percy allowed him to tug him along with him, even though Jason's attention seemed solely on Percy.

"Oh, _plenty_. Did you forget the list we made? We had tons of movies that we wanted to watch. Since we won't be able to go to the theaters, we better find a way to watch them on Nico's laptop. There's plenty enough streaming websites, after all." He pointed out, thinking back to that day when they had waited for Jason and put together that list of movies.

He wished they _could_ go to the theaters to watch them all.

But this was okay.

As long as they got to watch them at all, he was fine.

Plus, this might actually be even _better_ , since they could chat and cuddle and do anything they wanted and simply pause the movie if necessary – all without annoying anybody else.

Perfect.

"Wasn't that the same day you three thought of how awesome your last names would sound together?" Jason asked with his eyebrows raised, and Percy grinned at the memory.

Yeah…they _had_ been quite obvious all this time, hadn't they?

"Let me just point out that Will fused your name and his own in a heartbeat. If that's not a sign he's a goner for you, I don't know what is."

Will turned his head and shot him an unimpressed look, though he didn't argue the statement.

Jason chuckled next to him.

"Oh really? And the fact he let you put your name next to his and probably even called him something dorky like 'Will Solace-Jackson di Angelo' shows what? His everlasting distaste for you?"

Eh, that _was_ a good point.

Percy made a face, trying to remember whether he _had_ called Will anything like that – and whether Will had let him.

"It was _Solace di Angelo Jackson_." Nico corrected from where he was lagging behind Will and Cecil, and Percy felt that fluttery feeling again when he realized Nico seriously still _remembered_ that.

Had it meant something to him, back then?

It had felt so odd to Percy, but at the same time, he hadn't been able to stop, and had wanted so badly for Will to agree with him and accept his name and accept _him_ and just…ugh, he had been a hopeless case back then, already.

How had it taken so long for him to realize it was actual _love_ , not just curiosity and Nico?

It was a mystery.

"Oh? Well, in that case, how about Solace di Angelo Jackson-Grace?" Jason tried with a wiggle of his eyebrows, and Percy made a face.

"No way, dude. You're already fused with Will, this would just be overkill."

Maybe he shouldn't have looked so disgruntled as he said that, because Will just _had_ to turn his head and see his face right then and there – and of course he just had to misinterpret that.

"Well, we can also fuse him with you, Perce, no problem." Will announced with a shrug, and Nico frowned.

" _Jackace_?"

"Who are you calling a jackass?" Cecil asked, sounding affronted, though that might also just be because he had still been talking.

Will snorted and turned away from the lot of them to laugh loudly, while Nico had his hands up and tried to explain to Cecil what he had meant, and that it had _not_ been an insult.

Percy and Jason shared a pointed look, both of them already grinning broadly, though seeing each other grin only made things worse.

"I like it."

"Of course you do. But think of the children, Percy." Jason tried to reason, but Percy ignored him, instead rubbing his hands together with a small cackle.

"Solace di Angelo Jackace."

"Percy, _no_." Nico groaned.

"Percy, _yes_."

Cecil walked backwards now, frowning at the lot of them as he seemed at a loss to what exactly was going on.

"We're not even getting married!" Nico argued, and Cecil's eyes widened, his mouth dropping open.

"Not _yet_." Percy, Jason and Will corrected, and Nico's face turned scarlet, while Cecil started grinning from one ear to the other, though he didn't say anything, which struck Percy as much more ominous than anything he could have possibly said.

Instead, the son of Hermes turned around again and seemed disturbingly light on his feet all of a sudden.

"You are the worst. I officially declare this topic off-limits until we've had our one-year anniversary, at the very least." Nico grumbled with a still beet-red face, and Percy grinned at him brightly.

"Aww, you plan on dating us for a whole year?"

"Percy, I plan on dating you for the rest of our lives." Nico deadpanned, and Percy grinned so wide it hurt, that warm, fuzzy feeling spreading inside him all over again, but this time to stay.

"Damn right. I know I definitely will." Will agreed, and then had nothing better to do than to stick his tongue out at Percy, but that didn't stop him from smiling whatsoever.

"You're so sickeningly adorable together, it's disturbing." Cecil muttered from in front of them, and Percy had to agree, though he also loved it this way.

"Well, duh, that's what happens when you're young and in love and have amazing boyfriends, dude." Will deadpanned, and Percy just loved the small half-shrug Nico did with that expression that said 'Well, he's not wrong', even though he didn't say anything.

"I bet. Hey, look, they're still arguing." Cecil pointed out and gestured ahead of them towards the forest.

Percy had almost forgotten where they had been going, though he could have done without a reminder just fine.

Jason squeezed his hand a little, their fingers still entwined, and their gazes met for a moment.

"You know, I just remembered the last time we played." He said quietly, and Percy blinked, trying to remember when they had actually played Capture the Flag.

Hadn't that been before Percy and Nico had even started dating?

Oh gods, that had been _so_ long ago…

Wait, hadn't that also been the first time Jason had played?

Percy grinned again.

"You were so confused and kept muttering 'This is _so_ much like the War Games' over and over again. It was a pain to trail you, man."

"Only because you had it stuck in your head that we had to be on opposing teams so you can beat me. You were so desperate to one-up me." Jason chuckled, and Percy wasn't sure whether it was intentional or not, but now their shoulders were brushing together.

"Well, I had to beat you at _something_ , alright?" He argued, and Jason grinned at him cheekily.

"Didn't go that well for you then, huh? If I remember correctly, you lost."

How cruel of him to remind Percy of that.

He huffed indignantly and looked away, instead catching sight of all the campers already in their battle armor, most of them yelling at each other at the top of their lungs as they had some sort of issue to work through that he didn't want to be part of.

"Well, just be happy we'll be on the same team this time, Sparky. You'd lose in a heartbeat." He declared cockily, though he didn't honestly know whether he'd be able to _seriously_ beat Jason, and he had no intention of finding out (for once).

"I know I would. Already lost my heart to you, after all, didn't I?" Jason agreed smoothly, and Percy promptly stumbled over his own feet, nearly crashing into the ground if it wasn't for Jason catching him and holding him upright with perfect ease.

"That…you…you can't just say… _Jason!_ " Percy cried insistently, feeling his face warming and probably looking the same way Nico had looked when they had talked about marriage.

Jason had _so_ done that on purpose!

Probably all of this was on purpose, to distract Percy from the fact he did _not_ want to enjoy this stupid game that completely ruined their plans for the day!

"What? I can't flirt with my lovely, adorable boyfriend? That's hardly fair, how else am I going to let you know how much I adore your squishy backside?" Jason asked with that horribly fake, genuine-looking look of perplexity, and Percy felt his ears _burning_.

"You…you…you're just saying that to get to me. We're outside. Stop showing off you can get under my skin, Sparky." He ranted, turning away from Jason and his handsome face and his big, way too nice hands, instead crossing his arms in front of him and pointedly looking _anywhere_ but at this absolute _tease_.

"I can not only get under your skin, but also into your pants, which is something I feel much more proud of."

"Jason!"

"What? Let me show off, will you?"

"What if somebody hears?" Not that Percy really gave a damn, but seriously, why was Jason even saying all this?

"Then they'll hear how in love I am with my boyfriend."

 _In love._

So, wait, was this Jason's way of saying he loved Percy?

They weren't quite that far yet with their confessions, Percy's blunders aside, so this would definitely be a first.

Not that Percy would mind…

Percy considered his options, ranging from teasing Jason to raising his eyebrows and flat-out asking him to tell him just how 'in love' he thought he was, but he wasn't quite sure he'd like the reply.

The warm, fuzzy feeling inside him craved reassurance, though.

"Really?" He asked, the only moment he'd allow any insecurity to show, but he didn't regret it.

Annabeth came and started filling them in, but all Percy could see was Jason stepping closer and cupping his face, his cool and rather rough thumbs stroking over his cheeks gently.

"Of course." Jason whispered, barely audible, but Percy heard him just fine.

His lips twitched, taking in Jason's soft expression, his sky-blue eyes so genuine and warm, his cheeks that seemed slightly flushed, either from the somewhat cool wind, or their conversation, Percy wouldn't know.

"Are you even listening? Guys? Di immortales, stop your heart-eyes and get your head into the game, unless you want to end up skewered." Annabeth chided, but Jason held up a hand.

"Just one moment."

And while Percy's eyebrows shot up, surprised that _Jason_ would do such an un-Jason-like thing, Jason moved closer and pressed their lips together in a gentle, but deep and wonderfully satisfying kiss.

Mmh, okay, he believed him.

Percy wondered whether he should say anything back that could be interpreted as a love confession without flat-out saying it.

"Show-off." Percy whispered instead, though Jason didn't seem to mind at all, instead smirking against his lips as he pulled back slowly.

"With you? Always."

"Horrible human being."

"You love me." Jason shrugged, and Percy huffed, though he didn't argue the statement.

Whatever, he could pick a fight about this _later_.

Once they were done playing this game, and got back to their cabin to make out with Nico – or, well, _watch a movie together_ , though that would probably lead to them making out too, so same difference.

Oh, he could barely wait.

Grinning broadly, he turned to face Annabeth, who was busy rolling her eyes, though he knew she didn't care how horribly cheesy they were acting right in front of her.

The gods knew she had done the very same thing with Piper when those two had gotten together.

Gods, the times they had started kissing each other right in front of Percy and made heart eyes at each other and whispered all those sickly sweet love confessions to each other even though he had still been _right there_ …yes, this was _definitely_ sweet revenge for all that.

"Ready to play now?" Annabeth asked dubiously, and he winked at her.

"Bring it on, Wise girl."

Will and Nico shot him pointed looks, both of them with matching knowing grins on their faces, but Percy didn't mind.

The sooner they were done here, the sooner they could get back.

Win-win situation.

He could do this.

...

It went well, until it all went to shit.

Why a Capture the Flag game?

Why with the entire Camp?

Wouldn't it have made much more sense to split it up more, and therefore have two games, or on separate days?

What was the point of forcing the whole Camp to pick sides?

What was the point of Chiron coming up and deciding it was a great idea to split the three of them up in two separate teams?

Well, at least he was about to do that.

Jason could see it in his grim expression, and the way his tail swished as the Centaur moved towards them, even though the fact Percy, Nico and he were practically _glued_ to each other should have been indicator enough they weren't willing to split up.

He spotted Will, looking over from where he was talking to Austin and Kayla in hushed voices, and the way his expression changed to a conflicted, disgruntled look as he saw Chiron making his way over to them spoke volumes.

He must have guessed this would happen, just as Jason had.

There was no way the campers would be okay with all three of them – as children of the Big Three – to be in one team together.

Great.

Percy was going to go on a rampage.

Seriously, there had to be _something_ Jason could do to diffuse the situation and get them to be able to play together.

Nico couldn't use his powers yet, so, if they promised not to use theirs, either, that would equal things out, right?

Somehow, Jason had a hunch he wouldn't get far with that.

"Boys…" Chiron started, but then stopped when _Will_ suddenly rushed past him, clearing his throat loudly.

" _So!_ We're starting the first Capture the Flag game in forever, huh? Well, I feel the need to point out the most important lesson you're ever going to learn!" His boyfriend announced loudly, completely ignoring Chiron behind him as he spoke, and Jason shot Nico and Percy a puzzled look, just to be met with just as much confusion.

What…?

Annabeth and Piper moved past a row of definite newbs, eyebrows raised and arms crossed, though they made no move to interrupt or interfere, instead listening curiously.

Will waited until he had enough attention, then he grinned and looked around at them all.

"The most important lesson, is that you can always – _always_ – choose what side you're on. No matter what, no matter where, no matter when. _You_ are in charge of your own life. Your whole family, all your friends, they might be on one side and try to force you to join them, but if you feel that this side isn't for you, then nobody – and I repeat, _nobody_ – can force you to join them, anyways. It's your life, and your decision. You fight for what you believe is right, so trust your instincts and your heart, rather than what other people might be trying to force you to do. Isn't that right, Chiron?" Will finished his speech, turning to look up at Chiron with a challenging look that only Jason, Percy and Nico saw.

By the gods, Will was a genius.

Nico's lips curled into a smug, triumphant grin, and they shared a quick look that spoke volumes.

Oh gods, he loved this guy.

Chiron cleared his throat, his tail swishing agitatedly.

"That…is correct, Mr. Solace. As it is-…"

"We're in a team together then!" Percy immediately cut in and moved his arms around Nico and Jason, and Jason spotted Annabeth moving her face into Piper's shoulder in apparent defeat, though Piper gave him a little thumbs-up when she saw them looking, so he knew all was well.

"What, think it will heighten your chances of beating Team Red? Forget it, Jackson." Clarisse called and lifted her spear, and while all the other kids started mumbling, nobody seemed to notice the gleeful smiles that were exchanged between Percy and the daughter of Ares, including the little wink from the latter.

It was good to have friends, especially feared ones like Clarisse.

"We already split everyone up anyways, so keep the threats for the actual game, will you? So, does anybody want to add any more?" Annabeth asked loudly, moving forward to stand beside Will and give him a small nod in acknowledgement, which Will returned before he moved back over towards Austin and Kayla with a last wink in their direction, as well as a little wave of his hand.

Jason mouthed back a mute 'Thank you', but his boyfriend only shrugged with a grin and picked up his former conversation with his siblings, by the looks of it.

Thank the gods, the day was saved.

"Have I mentioned I love him?" Percy sighed dreamily, and Jason shot him a wry look, while Nico rolled his eyes with a broad grin on his face.

"Only a few hundred times. Come on, let's talk to Cecil and figure out who actually _leads_ this group, if Annabeth, Piper, Clarisse, and all the other Ares kids are in the _other_ group. Without leader, we're definitely going to go down. And we all know they'll demand a rematch in that case."

It was true. If they didn't at least put on a good fight, the rest of the Camp would most definitely make them play again, and that would only draw things out even more.

So, yeah, time to find the leader.

…Or so he thought, until Cecil blinked up at them owlishly.

"What do you mean, the leader? We got you, don't we? You can lead us just fine." The boy declared, and Jason guessed he should have guessed.

"Okay, Jason leads, then." Nico shrugged, and Jason couldn't believe his own boyfriend would do this to him.

"Hey, why Jason, why not me?" Percy instantly wailed, sounding heartbroken.

"Feel free to do it, Perce. I only played this game _once_." Jason pointed out and took a step back, but Percy pulled him right back closer.

"Forget it, I'm not doing this alone. These kids are _cruel_ , I'm not facing those by myself." His boyfriend hissed, and Jason's eyebrows shot up, his gaze roaming their 'team'.

True, those _were_ the kids from earlier.

Jason hadn't even noticed.

Damn, that had really bothered Percy, hadn't it?

Jason could understand why, of course, since their questions and expressions had made him more than a little uncomfortable, too, but he was well aware that he had handled the situation much better than Percy had, and the fact he had all but forgotten about it now while it still seemed fresh on Percy's mind showed all the more that this was a _big_ deal to Percy.

Even though Percy usually didn't give a damn about other people's opinions, he seemed to be bothered greatly by pushy questions and the infiltration of his privacy by way too nosy children that enjoyed turning their words over and using them against them.

Then again, who wouldn't be?

"Well, this will be our chance to show them how well we can work together, then." Jason decided, and grabbed Percy's and Nico's hands.

Neither of them complained, and Cecil looked relieved to no end, even though Jason wasn't sure he had actually followed their conversation, since he had been busy looking for the Stoll brothers that – unknown to Cecil – were trying to sneak away right at this moment, Jason could clearly spot them crawling behind those bushes.

"Alright, everybody, gather round. Travis, Connor, you as well." He called out loudly, and the two brothers groaned loudly and came out of their hiding place, much to Cecil's apparent delight, while everybody else trudged closer with varying degrees of hesitance and what could only be considered _doubt_.

But Jason had been praetor and a leading figure for too long to be bothered by such nonsense, especially since most of these kids were young and hadn't been around in the wars to see them _fight_ before.

"First things first, does anybody here have any limitations we should know of? No matter if it's anxiety, pains, or motion sickness, we need to know so we don't put you in a bad position." He asked, and promptly heard a kid huff and mutter something along the lines of 'Nobody is going to care in a real battle'.

"Everybody cares. You are responsible for those around you, for their welfare and their lives, same as they are responsible for yours. A person in the wrong position could be the end to the entire team, and in a real battle, this would mean _the death_ of all your teammates, friends and family. This is important. Treat it as such." Nico cut in, his voice deadly serious, and all the muttering stopped as _everyone_ stared at Nico with big, round eyes.

Good. The point had definitely gotten across.

"I'm afraid of heights." One girl said awkwardly, and Jason nodded.

"Alright, then we won't put you anywhere up high." He said, and heard Dylan snort.

That boy again.

"As if _anybody_ has to go anywhere high."

Percy and Jason shared a long, pointed look, but Nico grabbed both their hands and shook his head ever so slightly.

Fine.

Maybe next time.

"Anything else?"

"I have a congenital heart defect, so maybe if I didn't have to run too much, that would be cool. Not _necessary_ , but…yeah. I'm good at laying traps and such, though!" A boy spoke up, sounding and looking uncomfortable, especially when quite a few of the other kids shot him wide-eyed looks.

Percy gave an understanding nod.

"That's fine. We will need a few for that, anyways, and if you already know you're good at it, that makes it even better, not to mention easier on us."

When nobody else spoke up, Jason cleared his throat.

"Alright. If anybody has anything they don't want to say now or that doesn't occur to them until later, don't hesitate to come forward and tell us. That also means you should always make sure your teammates are okay. If you witness somebody having a panic attack or any injury or problem that prevents them from being suitable for the position assigned and there's still time to help, _do it_. You are responsible for each other, as Nico said. Now, Percy will tell you about what positions are necessary, and who would be best suitable. Listen well, and think of your own abilities."

"Don't put yourself down, but also don't think of yourself too highly. Real battles aren't like training, where you fight against somebody you're comfortable with and know they'd never really hurt you on purpose. Real fights are nasty and more often than not, people fight dirty. As important as trust and teamwork is, next to watching your team's back, you'll also always have to watch out for yourself, too." Nico added quietly, and Jason nodded.

He risked a glance over his shoulder towards Team Red, which was far enough away not to allow anybody to overhear anything or do any lip reading, though he could still make out Annabeth's curly blonde hair and Piper's feather from somewhere in the very middle of the group.

They had time to explain this, especially since their groups consisted mostly of new kids, so he knew not to worry.

Plus, it would be suicide to send them out there without first bringing them down to earth again and showing them that fights of any kind were horribly serious business.

Even though they should already know that.

But both he _and_ Percy and Nico had been thrown into most things without proper explanation or advice, and he wasn't going to let that happen to anybody else anymore, not as long as he was there.

Percy started giving a rundown of the tasks at hand, from getting the flag somewhere safe and the methods used to assure its safety, to the people in charge of trailing the enemy, and the people that would be used as decoys and would probably face most of the battle and injuries.

Jason nodded along, already trying to gauge from the built and weapon of choice of the kids who would be better for what, though he knew Percy and Nico would be better judges of that, given that they had trained with them for much longer.

He only had a special place for _one_ person, and that was purely to show him his place and get him down from his apparent high.

"Alright, let's get started. First, I'd say we're taking volunteers for each job, then the rest gets assigned. Deal?" Percy finished and clapped his hands together, looking perfectly in his element for a moment; Jason couldn't help but smile.

Whatever Percy's opinion on fighting might be, he made a great instructor/teacher/leader.

His boyfriend glanced around at him and Nico for a moment, silently asking whether they wanted to add anything to this.

Jason motioned him closer, whispering his special request to him in the form of one single word.

" _Dylan_."

This had always been his way of dealing with problems such as these, after all.

Take the biggest bully, the one with the biggest mouth, the one who had the actual issue and got others worked up – and show him his place, because then, the others would follow.

Percy's lips split into a dangerous smile, his eyes gleaming.

"You speak my mind, babe. But yes, already on it."

Oh, he had such a smart boyfriend.

"Are you two talking about Will's 'headache'?" Nico asked amused as he moved closer, probably not having heard a word they had said, but picking up on it nevertheless.

 _Two_ smart boyfriends.

Jason glanced over his shoulder towards Will, who stood with his arms crossed next to Chiron, his eyes on Jason, a knowing smile on his face.

He had _the best_ boyfriends.

Percy rubbed his hands together and started calling out their positions, the kids instantly moving to where Nico told them to in order to keep things organized, yet not make it too obvious for anyone of Team Red to immediately figure everything out.

Since the Athena _and_ the Ares cabin were involved, they were bound to try and collect as much information as possible.

Jason returned his attention to the group of demigods in front of them, watching how Dylan kept trying to volunteer for various positions while degrading or laughing about others, but Percy didn't acknowledge him, and Nico didn't motion for him to move, which seemed to make him more and more agitated as person after person got sorted.

"What's this? Some sick sort of bullying? That's…that's…like racist, or something. What's your issue?" The boy called out when Percy asked for volunteers for the scouting position for the edge of the forest, to prevent an attack from behind.

Percy blinked at him innocently.

"What do you mean? Look, there's not _infinite_ spots for each position, that would be stupid. You might end up with way too many people on defense but nobody in offense, or the other way around. As for stealth, the less people involved, the stealthier, right? Can't have a whole stampede of kids spying on three to five people, that would do more harm than good." He explained, sounding as if he seriously thought Dylan hadn't caught that by himself, and Jason could see the boy _fuming_.

"Yeah? So what position you're going to put me in, then? Scrubbing the floors?"

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"What a kind offer, but that would be quite redundant in a forest, don't you think?" He deadpanned nonchalantly, and Jason had to exert all his self-control to keep his face impassive as Dylan looked ready to explode.

"I have a better idea. Dylan, Percy has told me you have improved greatly regarding your offense. Why don't you join me? Just you, me, a couple of other selected members. It will be our job to take out as many of the enemy as possible, to reduce the numbers that reach our back-up." Jason offered, trying not to smile too dangerously, though Dylan's sudden paling and the way he seemed to practically shrink back in his place showed he got the gist, anyways.

"Will the three of you fight together?" A girl asked curiously, but Nico shook his head.

"Not this time. Since we'll mostly be facing newcomers, Jason will lead the offense team, while Percy will join the scouting and keep a watch on everybody. I will be with the defense close to the flag. We don't need to go overboard, but that doesn't mean we should be careless. This _will_ be the first game for most of you, after all, and you should all have a thorough and good experience." Nico explained, while Jason and Percy nodded along.

Yes, that had been his plan as well.

Good to see the three of them were well enough attuned to each other and to working with each other by now to know each other's way of thinking.

"Did you talk about this beforehand?" Cecil asked surprised, looking genuinely impressed, which made Jason smile.

Percy shook his head.

"No need. When you've worked together for a while, especially in a war, you pick up on the abilities and tendencies of your teammates. Your life depends on it. We have fought back to back enough times to know what to do now without wasting time on discussing it." His boyfriend explained, and Jason gave a small nod, before dismissing them hurriedly, not caring much for the looks of admiration.

They were young, they didn't yet know anything about wars and fighting; they were just kids trying to grow up faster than they should have to.

Jason wanted to make this world a safe place for all of them, and give them the chance to just be kids, for as long as they wanted and needed to be.

"Alright, everybody, I'll let Annabeth know we're ready to go. In the meantime, Percy, Nico, get them to their points. You know where the flag should go." He announced, and his boyfriends gave him quick nods before swarming out with the others, while Jason moved to join Chiron and Will.

Annabeth had her back to him and was gesturing with her hands to apparently tell them to swarm out as well, since he could see her team beginning to move back into the forest and away from sight no moment later, too.

Apparently, she was done, as well.

"Yeah? Well, but they're not going to fight each other, so there's no point in forcing them to." He heard Will saying in an eerily emotionless voice as he came closer.

"This is an exercise meant to challenge them. Fighting on the same team will not do any such thing." Chiron pointed out, but Will's blank look didn't change.

"Trying to set them up against each other won't do that, either. They have plenty challenges to face with Annabeth and Clarisse. The war will not be between us, Chiron. I know you want the best for the campers and for them, but this will not help."

"And you know this how, exactly? Will, I am not a blind, old man. Talk to me. What is it that you're seeing? What is it that's making you so adamant about staying quiet? Any and all information could be essential." Chiron said urgently, but Jason already knew the conversation was over for Will, since he turned to look at Jason with a bright smile on his face a second later.

"I see my wonderful boyfriend, coming to give me a kiss and ask me to wish him good luck." Will stated cheerfully, and Chiron sighed loudly, while Jason moved towards his blonde and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a gentle peck on the nose, then a quick kiss.

"Indeed. Wish me luck?"

Will grinned up at him, his eyes telling him he wanted to be anywhere but here.

Jason could understand that all too well.

"Of course. Best of luck, sweetheart."

"You know, I can't think of anything to say. I'd have said something like 'Make sure to heal my team, as well', but I already know you will. So, I guess that only leaves the classic 'May the better team win'-statement." Annabeth put in unimpressed as she stopped next to them, not even looking their way as she redid the clasps of her chest plate.

"Just don't be too harsh on the new kids, or I'll have you come and help out in the infirmary the next some days." Will huffed in reply, and Annabeth's lips quirked upwards.

"Would I ever?"

"What? Be too harsh or help out in the infirmary?" Will asked dubiously, but Annabeth merely smiled at him, letting him come to his own conclusion.

"Alright. Ready to start the game?" Chiron inquired loudly, and Jason let go of Will with a last stroke over his arms, before reaching out to shake Annabeth's hand, who returned the gesture with a challenging gleam in her gray eyes.

"May the better team have mercy on the other one." Jason said with a nod, and Annabeth grinned back at him.

"Same. Good luck."

"Likewise."

"Alright, give the signal." Chiron said as he turned towards Will, who made a face at being given orders, but then stuck his fingers in his mouth anyways, whistling loudly and shrilly, a sound that cut through the quiet noises of the forest around them like a chainsaw.

Jason and Annabeth shot each other one last look, then Will gave him a little thumbs up before Jason and Annabeth both turned around and ran back to their teams.

The game had begun.

He moved through the forest swiftly, giving the 'Go'-signal to the few heads he saw popping up behind trees and bushes, before he reached Dylan and a couple of other kids that were apparently deemed fit for the position by either Percy and/or Nico.

Jason didn't question it, merely giving them a nod and a quick run-down of how they were going to proceed.

Annabeth was more of a strategist and planner, similar to what Frank liked to do, but she wasn't heavily into combat, so chances were she wouldn't be interested in joining the frontlines – she was capable of it, of course, as he had to find out the hard way she could handle almost any weapon with an impressive level of skill; but it wasn't necessary now, so he doubted it.

Their best bet was that Clarisse would take the offensive, so that's what he prepared for, though he wouldn't mind being wrong one bit.

Dylan fell into place behind him obediently, not speaking up once, so Jason guessed he was too hyped for what was to come to think of anything to complain about.

They moved quietly through the forest, the fact it was still day and rather light irritating Jason immensely, since that meant they couldn't be half as sneaky as they'd like – though it also meant Team Red would have problems sneaking past them, which in turn was an advantage.

It hadn't escaped Jason that most of the skilled campers were on Annabeth's team, after all, which meant most of his own team consisted of newcomers.

But they could do it, he firmly believed in that.

Since they had the advantage of Nico with the flag, he certainly knew the battle wouldn't be boring for either side.

Jason heard rustling ahead of them and readied his sword, signaling his teammates to follow.

The next moment, a group of demigods shot out of the bushes with loud war cries, and Jason's group retaliated in kind, rushing forward and into battle.

As expected, Clarisse came right after, her spear making straight for Jason.

Splendid.

At least he wouldn't have to worry about accidentally taking things too far with one of the less trained kids.

Now, hopefully things went as smoothly for the others, too.

.

"Dylan, if you yell orders one more time, you're out!" He interrupted when Dylan started for what had to have been the hundredth time.

He had already led to the 'death' of five teammates, Jason had _absolutely_ had enough.

"What the hell? Why?!"

Oh, he _wondered_.

"We are your teammates, not your enemies, and most definitely not your puppets. You were assigned offense, following _my_ lead, and that's what you're going to do. I may be engaged in battle, but I am perfectly capable of watching over the rest of you, and it is _I_ who will pass orders if I see fit. So far, you have done nothing but bring down the team spirit with your nagging, and in a real battle, you would have been responsible for five lives by now. _I_ give the orders. _You_ follow." He ordered sharply, and Dylan stared back at him in shock, though Jason didn't spend much time looking at him, too busy blocking blow after blow.

This was going to be a long game.

Where was Percy when he needed him?

.

"But I can lead them _better_! You're too distracted drooling over your 'boyfriend'!" Dylan cried indignantly, and Jason groaned, so, _so_ tempted to just let that guy get hit and defeated.

Better yet, _he_ wanted to be the one to take Dylan out, so they could all finally have some peace.

"I'm busy trying to keep your whiny ass alive. Tia, to your left! Allison, help out Benny." He called over the heads of fighting demigods, and Dylan promptly chimed in and started dishing out orders where no orders were necessary, only causing confusion and their crumbling team to crumble even further as the two kids were immediately hit and disqualified.

Oh _great_.

"Dylan, you just cause two teammates to die! Shut up and let Jason lead!" Percy yelled, looking as frustrated as Jason felt, but Dylan just let out a derisive snort.

"Of course you stick up for your boyfriend. Bet you're just scared to tell him that he actually sucks."

Wow. Rude.

Jason saw the incoming missiles that were most definitely Leo's invention (why, oh why, did the teams have to be split so unevenly) and he moved automatically, noticing Percy doing the same.

Their swords slashed through the air above Dylan's head to get them before they could cause harm – but the boy must have assumed they were out to behead him, since he uttered a loud, high-pitched screech and ducked, arms flailing and sword flying.

Oh, by the gods…

"What are you doing?! There's a fight going on around you, you can't just chuck your weapon away!" Jason yelled over the noise of battle, and Dylan looked up at him in utter outrage.

"You did that on purpose! You're trying to scare me so I make a fool of myself!"

"I have better things to do with my time. Percy, watch out, incoming!" Jason brushed him off and continued with Percy to take out the flying objects before they hit the ground.

Dylan scrambled after his sword, all the while cussing and grumbling and apparently seriously believing all of this was Jason's fault.

Jason ignored him.

.

"Dylan, I'm going to kill you." Jason stated in a casual tone, as if talking about the weather, as their last member of the offense team went down because _one person_ couldn't keep their stupid mouth shut.

"If she had _listened_ , she wouldn't have _died_!" Dylan insisted loudly as he glowered at Tia, who had _just_ covered him moments ago, before he had ordered her to do a suicide move that had – big surprise – gotten her killed.

The girl looked ready to cry – but it would be tears of anger, not sadness.

Jason was going to cry, too – out of joy, once this dumb game was over.

Percy whistled loudly, calling for backup, and Jason tried to take consolation in his boyfriend still being alive.

"If _you_ had listened to _me_ , you would have shut up when I told you to, and three-quarters of our team would still be alive now!" He shot back, and Percy joined his side, battling away the onslaught of kids from the opposing team – which was much more difficult than Leo's missiles, because here they had to watch out not to use _too much_ strength and actually cause serious damage; while also not letting the kids know they _weren't_ going all out on them.

"Oh yeah, sure, blame me for your own failures."

Oh gods, Jason hated this kid.

"His only failure is that he keeps saving your sorry ass, even though it would have saved all of us countless nerves and lives to just let you get hit and disqualified already." Percy remarked darkly, and Jason shot him a pointed look.

 _Thanks so much._

.

Dylan screamed loudly and shrilly, and for the first time since this game had started (or the first time in general, really), the boy turned around to look at Jason with wide eyes and the silent plea for help, rather than annoyance and with countless unnecessary taunts at the ready.

Jason and Percy moved automatically, instinctively, well enough attuned to each other to know Jason would take the left and Percy would take the right, their swords slashing through the air above Dylan's head once more, though this time the boy knew their intent and held still, his own sword at the ready in his trembling hands.

"Finally willing to see that Jason might have a reasoning behind his orders, Dylan?" Percy called over as they moved on, and Jason noticed Dylan lagged behind slightly now, rather than trying to push past him all the time.

Dylan didn't reply, but at least he listened when Jason next told him to duck, and when their reinforcements finally came in, he took his assigned place and kept quiet.

 _Finally_!

At this rate, Jason would actually have to look for Leo and thank him for being a genius and almost getting them killed.

Maybe not with those exact words, but he should at least thank him.

At least one problem less.

.

"I'm…sorry." Dylan muttered quietly – in fact, he was so quiet Jason almost didn't notice him talking at all.

He looked around at him in question, trying to determine whether the apology was meant for him or somebody else, but since Percy was a few feet away and busy making out with Will, while Nico stood next to them and argued with Leo about his attempt at getting one of his inventions to steal their flag, and there was none of the kids around that Dylan had ended up murdering, he guessed the apology _was_ meant for him.

"Did you learn your lesson?" He asked, and Dylan made a disgruntled face, before his shoulders sagged and he shrugged.

"If they had just _listened_ …"

Jason shook his head.

"They did, Dylan. The problem is that you assumed they could see what you saw. Instead of telling people what you would do in their position, and getting annoyed with them for not getting it and messing up, you should point out what's wrong and let them come to a decision as to how to solve the problem. You don't yet have the necessary experience, and you have not yet worked with your teammates enough to know how they fight and move, nor why they do the things they do." He explained, and sat down next to Dylan, noticing how he drew together more and more as Jason spoke.

He sighed.

"You might get there eventually though. Keep training, and stop questioning everybody and everything around you. A certain level of wariness and caution is never bad, but constant nagging or questioning of orders and authority will only end up wearing down the team spirit and distract people from what's important. In a team, trust is one of the most important things. If I tell you to duck, you have to trust me to know that you have to duck, and do so, rather than turning around and asking me why." He continued, and Dylan huffed.

"I guess so."

Hey, they were making progress.

Just earlier, when he had yelled at Dylan to get his head out of his ass and just _do_ it, Dylan had told him to fuck off.

Though he had also yelled that at Clarisse after she had refused to let him switch to her team and proceeded to tell him nobody would want somebody on their team when they couldn't even follow the simplest orders and didn't respect their superiors.

Which was all true, of course, but Dylan had been a little unwilling to see that, back then.

Now, however, he seemed to realize a thing or two, including how wrong his behavior had been, so Jason had high hopes this had been a one-time experience.

"You should probably apologize to your fellow teammates." He pointed out quietly, and Dylan sighed heavily.

"I…ugh, fine." The boy grumbled, and Jason rolled his eyes.

"Apologize because you mean it, not because somebody tells you to."

"Anything else?" Dylan asked disgruntled, and Jason pursed his lips.

"Nice talking to you too, Dylan."

"Whatever. Go make out with your friends or something. It's all you ever do."

Ah, there was the taunting again.

"Jealous?" Jason asked unimpressed, spotting Will looking their way with a quizzical look on his face, while Percy had joined the conversation between Nico and Leo, by the looks of it.

"Eww." Dylan looked outright disgusted, but Jason couldn't particularly say he cared, so he merely shrugged and got up to move over to his boyfriends.

"Jason?" Dylan piped up behind him one more time, and he stopped, glancing over his shoulder back at him.

The boy wasn't looking at him, instead focused on staring at his feet.

"I…guess you're not half bad in battle. I still think you're a freak, and the whole thing with your 'boyfriends' is disgusting, but…I guess you can fight alright." He stated, and Jason had a hard time deciding whether he was trying to compliment or insult him.

Not knowing what to reply, Jason gave the smallest nod he could manage, then left to get to his boyfriends, the conversation all but forgotten again as Will wrapped his arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"My mighty hero. How _did_ you two manage to beat Team Red with only a third of your people left in the game? I'm still amazed."

Jason chuckled, wrapping his arms tightly around his boyfriend and looking forward to taking a shower and dropping into bed with them to sleep (and maybe cuddle a bit right before, just because).

"Mostly luck, really. Percy and I were more set on not making it too easy for the others to get to our flag, but it was thanks to the Stoll brothers trying to sneak away that they found the red flag and managed to seize it. So, really, the Stoll brothers are your mighty heroes, Freckles." He explained, and Will rolled his eyes.

"You're all my heroes. I won a bet against my siblings thanks to you guys."

That sounded just like Will, too.

"Want to get back to the cabin?" He asked hopefully, though he was pretty sure Chiron would want them around for a while longer to discuss future games and whatnot.

" _Yes_!" Both Percy and Nico exclaimed immediately and promptly dropped their conversation with Leo, who seemed stunned for a moment, but then laughed and told them he'd cover for them no problem.

"I'll come over the next some days for the A/C I promised you!" He called over his shoulders back at them, and Jason was glad they had him.

When he wasn't inventing dangerous explosives that enjoyed zigzagging through the sky at unsuspecting demigods, his tinkering surely was amazing.

(Though even that was, to a certain extent, amazing, even Jason had to admit that.)

"Okay, ready?" Will asked, glancing around to make sure nobody was looking.

The guys nodded, then sneaked out of the clearing and away, waving at the Stoll brothers, as well as Lou Ellen and Cecil, as they did the same thing.

What a game.

Jason was _so_ glad it was over.

Now, it was boyfriend-time again.

"I'm so not dusting the surfaces anymore. Not today." Percy sighed in apparent exhaustion, and Jason threaded their fingers together.

"Nah, now is movie time, babe. Ready for a really good and relaxing movie night?"

As expected, Nico's face lit up almost immediately, while Percy grinned with his eyes closed.

"A movie night sounds _awesome_." Nico put in with ill-concealed excitement, and Jason's grin widened.

So adorable.

"I know right? I'm calling dibs on Nico's lap." Will immediately piped up, and Percy snorted.

"You just want to be in the middle!"

"Of course I do, you can't always be the lucky one getting away with the middle spot, after all." Will bickered right back, and Jason rolled his eyes, shooting Nico a look that his boyfriend immediately returned, the corners of his mouth still quirking up.

"Stop your bickering, you just made out ten minutes ago, we all know you love each other dearly." Jason cut in to stop any further arguments, and both of them immediately fell silent with small smiles on their faces, their hands entwined just like Jason's and Percy's were.

He couldn't wait to get back to their cabin.

Yes, it was most definitely boyfriend-time now.

...

"Mmh, I'm sorry, Nico…" Will breathed against his lips as they kissed, again and again and again, and Nico frowned slightly, threading his fingers through Will's hair as he tried to make sense of his words.

"What for?" He asked dazedly, resisting the urge to moan when he felt Percy's lips and tongue against the side of his neck, closely followed by Jason's on the other side.

"We're messing up your movie night…" Will explained, but that only made Nico laugh.

"Will, this is _exactly_ what I hoped would happen during a movie night. Everything is going according to plan." He informed him cheekily, and Will smiled at him in a mixture of relief and affection.

Then, it turned into a teasing grin.

"Oh really? Why didn't you just say so? And here I was, trying to resist temptation for forever."

Nico smirked right back at him.

"I noticed. It was quite fun to watch you craving to touch me without actually giving in. I kept wondering how long you'd be able to keep it up."

In all honesty, it had been _torture_ for Nico to resist asking for their touches when they had _not_ touched him like they usually did during movies – no hand on his shoulder, no 'innocent' touches, nothing of the sort.

Jason had been the only one who had had _some_ mercy on Nico and stroked over his thigh the way he always did; else Nico was pretty sure he'd have gone insane during the first film already.

"Next time, give me a sign, Neeks. I know you have the highest sex-drive, but that doesn't mean I can tell when you're actually up for more, love." Will pointed out, and Nico made an affirmative sound as their lips met again.

"Will do, now keep kissing me."

Will breathed a small laugh against his lips, more than eager to comply.

Percy's hands moved under his shirt from behind, his touch deliberate and insistent, while Jason pulled away from Nico's neck to probably get closer to Percy, since he could hear the two of them kissing behind him mere seconds later.

"So what would you like to do? If you've been waiting for this, I'd hate to ruin your fantasy." Will purred against his lips, and Nico felt his face warming.

Oh, Will had no idea about all the things he wanted to do and try out…

"Anything is fine. I just want to feel you, that's all. Been way too long." He replied more confidently than he was, though he knew full well they probably wouldn't understand.

They didn't seem nearly as needy for this sort of thing as Nico was.

Will had confirmed it, too, telling him he had the highest sex-drive.

Nico wasn't sure whether that was a bad thing per se, but he surely knew it could be quite infuriating.

Percy moaned softly behind him.

"I know right? _Way_ too long."

"There's this thing called 'speaking up', you know? Might solve an issue or two." Will remarked, but he was the last person to say something on this matter and he knew it, too.

Nico wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him in for some more kisses, while Percy's fingers played with his waistband idly.

Then, Percy had to pull his hands away because Will shifted closer, his legs wrapping around Nico's waist insistently.

"Can I take your shirt off?" The blonde asked all of a sudden, and Nico nodded, though he realized a moment later that agreeing meant he'd have to let go of Will for long enough to let him tug his shirt off.

Most definitely not.

He was never going to let him go, not when he was _on his lap_ like this.

Seriously, this was better than any fantasy Nico could have made up in his dreams (awake or asleep), _ever_.

Will just felt so wonderful and nice, his body so alluringly warm as he rubbed against Nico, clothes be damned.

He felt Will stroking down his shoulders to his arms to his wrists, before his boyfriend lifted his arms up for him and pulled his Camp shirt over his head, taking _way_ too long.

Nico had to see him.

Had to touch him.

Had to feel him.

Percy pulled away behind him completely, and Nico missed the touch and feel of his body immediately, but he was too focused on Will right now to turn around and/or ask for him to come back.

Instead, he watched Will gazing at him, his dazed, blue eyes raking up and down his body from his head to his navel as his hands chucked the shirt off the bed carelessly, before they were on Nico's chest, so, _so_ warm against his cool skin, and so, _so_ nice.

Nico moved his hands to Will's sides, squeezing ever so faintly as he craved for him to come closer, to rub against him again, to kiss him and to ravish him.

Gods, he wanted him.

He wanted him and he loved him and he _needed_ him closer, okay?

Will seemed to get the unspoken plea, because he shifted closer with a little jolt of his hips that made Nico see stars and let his eyes fall shut as his thoughts suddenly took a completely different turn.

"You feel so wonderful, Nico. So aroused, so alluring, so _in love_ …" Will breathed in amazement, and Nico's grip on him tightened for a moment as he pulled him closer, his fingertips digging into his oh so warm and soft skin.

How would it feel?

Nico knew he shouldn't even _think_ about this, not with _Will_ , but…

"And so curious…" Will added, a small, knowing smirk appearing on his lips as he started stroking over Nico's chest with his palms – a gesture that soothed Nico before he even really panicked about being found-out.

He opened his mouth to apologize, to try and explain he couldn't help it, but that it was okay and Will had no reason to worry – but Will shook his head softly and leaned forward to press their lips together disturbingly gently, only _slowly_ deepening their kiss and driving Nico absolutely crazy.

Nico tried to resist as best as he could, to be patient, to let Will get his fill of whatever it was he wanted, but then he couldn't help it, his hands moving up to cup Will's face and pull him in more insistently, their kiss turning messy and hungry and _oh gods yes this was exactly what he needed_.

Will's lips twitched in apparent amusement, but before Nico could comment on that, his boyfriend jolted with his hips again, and Nico was a dead man.

His hands flew down to Will's hips to pull him closer, to angle them better, to feel Will against his…

Nico moaned, and Will clutched his shoulders as he rubbed against Nico's annoyingly tight jeans, as he rubbed _against Nico's crotch_ , and if Nico had thought he was dying before, it was nothing compared to _now_.

His hands moved up hungrily, eager to touch Will's by now _burning_ skin, but the fabric of his shirt got in the way, so he tugged on it insistently and had to exert all his self-control to be patient enough for Will to pull away and lift his arms in a daze.

The shirt was torn off and tossed aside, then it was Nico's turn to get his fill of his boyfriend, though his hands did all the looking as he moved them over every inch of freckled skin he could find, touching, stroking, scratching, admiring.

"You're beautiful." Nico whispered, and Will smiled at him with _that_ look on his face, that wonderfully soft and warm and affectionate expression Nico could never get enough of, with his cheeks flushed the tiniest bit and his freckles glowing softly and his smile so beautiful and _his eyes_ …

"You're so far gone…" Will replied, sounding so amazed again, though Nico had no idea why, because, surely, Will had to know just how much he loved him.

"I love you." He said softly, not quite the words he wanted to say, but he had a hunch if he started talking about the depth of his feelings now, he'd still be right here tomorrow, and he had far more pressing matters to deal with until then – like his way too tight jeans.

He would tell Will later.

"I love you too, Nico. Want me to get you out of your confinement?"

Did he really have to ask?

"Yes, please." He breathed, and while Will smirked and gave him a quick kiss before his hands started fumbling with his pants, Nico glanced around to search for Percy and Jason – just to find them both sitting next to them with blown pupils and matching looks of amazement and arousal on their faces.

What, were they just going to watch?

Nico wanted to ask, but they both shook their heads and motioned for him to continue, looking eager and more invested than he had ever seen them, so he merely frowned and returned his focus on Will, who was now worrying his bottom lip and gazing down, his hands still fumbling with Nico's pants.

"Are you okay with this position?" He asked when it occurred to him that Will usually only allowed this position when it came to cuddling or confiding secrets, not sex – though he was pretty sure Will wouldn't have rubbed against him the way he had if he had had a problem with it.

"Love it. You feel wonderful, Nico." Will breathed back in reply as he managed to unzip Nico's pants and maneuver his hand inside to free his aching erection.

He was never wearing tight pants again in his life, by the way.

But, gods, this felt so good.

Will's hands on him felt so good.

 _Will_ felt so good.

Nico wanted to feel more, thinking of the last time Will had touched him, had rolled him over, had pushed inside him…

And then, Will thrust forward with his hips again, and even though the gesture wasn't all that close to his groin, it still sent a jolt of want through Nico, filling his mind with what-if's and that accursed curiosity he had never been able to shake off ever since Percy had first let him push him down and made it obvious _that was an option_.

It was.

But _not with Will_.

Will leaned in to bring their mouths together in a rather messy kiss again, and Nico could feel his fingers digging into Nico's shoulder blades, though he didn't complain, knowing he was no better with his hands still at Will's sides, clutching him for dear life and trying to resist the urge to bring him _closer_.

"Do you want to?" Will asked, his voice so raspy and alluring and wonderful Nico wanted to agree by default.

What did Will mean?

Nico wanted _everything_.

He really, really did.

He wanted Will to make love to him, all gentle and loving and affectionate, the way he held him sometimes.

He wanted Will to take him, pushing him down and rendering him to a moaning mess in a way only Will could – even if that meant finally letting him at his feet.

He wanted Will to fuck him senseless, making him scream and forget everything around them but Will's name, the way other people wrote about.

He wanted that, and so, _so_ much more, including the guys, one, both, all three of them at the same time in some way, any way, whatever, it didn't matter, he wanted it.

And he wanted to know how it felt like to be the one doing it, too.

Gods, yes, he wanted to know.

He wanted to know ever since his first time(s) with Percy, too captivated by the look of bliss on Percy's face to _not_ get curious, but he also knew not to rush anything, with none of them.

"Want to what?" He asked dazedly when Will didn't elaborate, leaning forward to drag his lips along Will's neck towards his ear to nibble on it ever so gently, which caused Will to stiffen and jolt his hips as he clutched him with a small, needy moan.

"Do you want to top?" Will asked in one breath, and for a moment, Nico wanted to laugh, because, what sort of question was that?

 _Of course_ he wanted to top. who wouldn't?

But then, the question 'Top _who_?' crossed his mind, and the implication of Will's words slowly dawned on him, giving him pause.

"Will?" He asked hesitantly, confused, and he tried to pull back to check Will's face, to see whether he was serious or joking, to make sure he wasn't misunderstanding anything right now, because that would certainly put an end to everything they hadn't even yet started.

"I…forget it. You don't have to. It was just…I just thought I'd…" Will rambled with a small cough and a sheepish, flustered look on his face, and Nico's heart was hammering wildly in his chest at the realization that, yes, Will had seriously just offered…

"Y-You…you would…?" He asked hesitantly, though he caught the hint of hopefulness in his own voice, making him cringe inwardly.

Will shifted, seeming hesitant for another moment before he gave a shy nod.

"I'd…well, I'd like to try? I mean, I understand if you don't want to! I…can't give you anything fancy like my first time or anything, after all, but…"

Nico's eyebrows furrowed together and he went to cup Will's face again, shaking his head softly as he stroked over his cheeks with his thumbs.

"Will, I'd love to have you."

Okay, out loud, that sounded horribly cringe worthy.

Will's small and rather sudden chuckle showed he thought the same way, though he also seemed sort of relieved by Nico's words, so Nico only felt mildly mortified.

"Yes?"

"Of course I would. Are you sure, though? I mean, Percy and Jason are much more…you know…"

Experienced.

Confident.

 _Better_.

Much better than Nico for this sort of thing, definitely.

Doubt washed over him, his promise to himself to _not_ rush into anything like this resurfacing as he gazed into Will's face, searching his eyes for an answer he didn't know the question to.

Then it dawned on him.

Wait, this was a horrible idea.

Will wanted to try, yes, but choosing _Nico_ when Nico had zero experience, when Will needed somebody confident and careful and caring?

What if Nico messed up?

What if he hurt him?

What if he did something that would make Will decide to never have sex again, while Percy and/or Jason could have done a way better job and made him feel as amazing as they had made Nico feel in the past?

Nico was already scared of messing up with Percy if they ever got that far, but now, he was positively _mortified_ at the prospect of a mistake.

Hands flew up to his face, and Will shook his head gently, a soft 'Shh' and an even softer touch calming Nico's racing thoughts.

"I'm sure. It will be fine, Nico. I can guide you through it no problem."

Nico hesitated, his hands moving on top of Will's as his gaze hushed back to their boyfriends, their amazed and eager looks now making much more sense.

Freaking traitors could have warned him.

"What if I mess up? Wouldn't Percy or Jason…"

"No. I…I think I'd…I'd feel better if it was you, actually. I don't mean it bad! I mean, I hope I'm not upsetting anybody right now-…"

"We get it." Percy and Jason immediately cut in, motioning for them to continue as they still sat there, watching and waiting, the suspense and anticipation in the room palpable.

"But I don't…" Nico whispered, trying to get across what a bad idea this was, that Will should reconsider, that Nico _wanted to_ so badly, but that this was nothing he should agree to.

Will's gaze was uncertain and searching, his fingers brushing along Nico's face, and Nico found the words stuck in his throat.

"You don't have to, sweetheart." Will breathed, but Nico shook his head.

"I want to. I want to so much, Will. But _what if I_ -…"

"You won't mess up. I know you, love. You'll do just fine."

"But what if…"

"We'll use the safewords. I'll let you know if we have to stop. It will be okay." Will assured him, though it almost sounded as if he was trying to reassure himself, too.

The thought was _not_ very reassuring.

"What if I can't stop?" He asked, trying and failing to control his panic, and Will shook his head adamantly.

"You'll stop, love. I trust you."

Nico clutched his hands, his eyes boring into Will as he tried to sort through the jumble of thoughts zig-zagging through his mind, his worries in one corner, and his wants in the other.

Then, Will's lips were back on his and Will's hands moved to the back of his neck – and all coherent thought was forgotten for a moment as he closed his eyes and kissed back, this time not minding the slow and gentle approach whatsoever.

"Okay." He whispered, and Will seemed surprisingly relieved, ending the kiss in order to smile against Nico's lips broadly.

"So you want to?"

Of course he did.

"Yes."

"Now?" Will asked, sounding as if he couldn't quite believe it, even though he was the one who made it sound so logical and simple – or at least much more logical and simple than Nico's mind was making it out to be.

"Unless you want to wait…?" He replied hesitantly, and Will immediately shook his head.

"Heck no, I can barely believe I actually dared to ask this time. I'm not sure I'll survive the anxiety and dread a second time."

"I'd never refuse you, Will." Nico muttered with a small frown, and Will smiled at him, giving him a peck on the nose.

"Thank you, Nico."

He had no reason to thank him yet, honestly.

They both glanced around at Percy and Jason, but they immediately started gesticulating wildly again, trying to get them to continue.

Dorks.

Percy even mouthed a 'Want us to leave?' that Nico pointedly ignored in favor of leaning forward and bringing his lips back to Will's neck.

Oh gods.

So, wait, they'd actually do this?

He'd…with Will…?

How was this going to work out?

How was he to know what was okay to do and what was off-limits still?

He had never thought Will would be okay with this – he had _told_ them countless times that he wasn't, after all.

But he was now?

"Absolutely sure?" He asked again against Will's skin, and his boyfriend huffed out a weak laugh.

"Don't you start being like Jason. I want this, Nico. Do you?"

Hell yes.

Nico wasn't sure his enthusiasm would do him any good at the moment, so he merely nodded and focused on kissing Will's jawline, adoring the slight height difference they had.

Will tilted his head and kissed him, their bodies pushing together once more, but knowing that Will had an intent behind his movements changed _everything_ as Nico felt the way Will moved, felt his breath against his skin, felt his hands shaking ever so faintly, probably just as nervous as Nico was.

Hands started fumbling, and before he knew it, he was unbuttoning Will's pants and getting out of his own, while Will had his hands on Nico's shoulders and held onto him with his nose at the side of his neck, trembling slightly – but the moment Nico started hesitating, his hips bucked into Nico's hands and mutely urged him to continue, so he trusted him to know his limit.

"You'll tell me if I have to stop, yes?" He asked breathlessly as Will straddled him again, his thighs just as hot as his chest had been before, practically scorching Nico's skin, though he was too high on lust and love and amazement to care.

"Yes. Promise." Will replied immediately, before leaning forward and capturing his lips again, their chests brushing together and Will's hands moving over his shoulders and downwards, leaving his skin tingling where he touched it, so Nico mimicked the gesture, his nails dragging over Will's back and sides ever so faintly.

Were they moving too slow? Too fast? Too soft? Too much?

He wasn't sure, but he also didn't stop to ask or ponder it any further, instead going by what felt right.

"I _will_ stop anytime." He breathed out, regretting his earlier words of doubt and feeling the need to verify Will could trust him in this regard.

Will moved his hand down between their bodies and wrapped it around their hard-ons as he angled his hips better, and both of them gasped softly.

"I know." Will replied with his eyes closed and his lips parted, and Nico stroked his hair out of his face to kiss him again, before moving down to his collarbones, then his chest.

With Will, it was sometimes hard to tell what he actually enjoyed and what he just wished he enjoyed, but Nico tried his best to make it as pleasurable as he could, anyways.

"Color?" He asked for confirmation as he trailed kisses along his chest towards his nipples, knowing this was tricky territory when it came to Will, and the action might or might not be too much given their nerves at this very moment.

"Green. Go on." Will replied with another small gasp and a moan, his hand still around their dicks, though his movements were slow and deliberate rather than rushed, which made them shiver pleasantly rather than rushing them to the edge and over it.

Nico licked over his nipple, then wrapped his lips around it, trying to keep it as wet and gentle as he could, and Will jumped slightly on his lap, his free hand moving through Nico's hair as he groaned and tugged him closer, arching into the touch.

So he _did_ like that – maybe not as much as Percy and Nico did, but certainly enough to make Nico continue.

A small moan sounded from next to them, making Nico glance sideways without stopping, catching sight of Percy slapping his hands over his mouth with a guilty expression, his eyes transfixed on them.

He certainly seemed into watching – even if he kept insisting he was more one for action.

Then again, Percy seemed to be into _everything_ , at least so far.

Nico returned his attention on his wonderful blonde he was currently ravishing, but then frowned and glanced back towards Percy when he switched nipples.

Wait, where was _Jason_?

The question answered itself in the form of Jason's arm appearing out of nowhere and dropping lube and condom right next to them.

Nico shot him a grateful look, thanking the gods for this considerate dork in his life.

Will's hand gave their dicks an insistent squeeze, and Nico's eyes shot up to meet his searching yet dazed gaze.

"I…I love you." Will whispered, and the way his voice shook ever so slightly gave Nico pause, though he recovered quickly enough to pull back and lean up to capture his boyfriend's lips again in a gentle kiss.

"I love you too. You okay?"

Will only nodded in reply, but Nico could feel his hand shaking as it slid out of his hair and settled back onto his shoulder.

"We don't have to if you're not ready." Nico pointed out when he saw Will's eyes flickering down to the lube/condom, but his blonde immediately shook his head.

"No, I want to. I'm ready. I just…" Will broke off, the confliction reappearing in his eyes, and his gaze hushed back down to the items.

Nico leaned up to nudge his nose with his own, and Will's gaze snapped back to his, the unspoken words clearly visible in those bright blue eyes.

'I'm scared I'll panic.'

'Please be gentle.'

'I don't know how to do this.'

'Help.'

And then: 'How dare you get my attention by doing something cute and cheesy like that at a time like this? You're impossible, Nico.'

Nico's lips quirked into a small smile and he went to repeat the motion, causing the tension to leave Will's shoulders as he let out a weak giggle, their smiles pressing against each other in a failed attempt of a kiss.

"Relax. We have time." Nico breathed, amazed _he_ was the one uttering reassurances right now, when he was still freaking out internally about Will _actually having said yes to bottoming_ – with _Nico_!

"I'm okay. You're the one freaking out. I'm perfectly cool here." Will argued with a smirk and an unconvincing wiggle of his eyebrows before placing kisses on Nico's cheeks, but he knew better.

"Sunshine, you're literally burning up."

"I think you're imagining things." Will stated with a serious nod that Nico countered with a pointed one of his own; then they both grinned at each other again and shared some more kisses, both of Will's hands on Nico's chest now, pressing against his skin as if he was trying to feel for his heartbeat.

Nico let him, allowing him to feel the wild and rapid hammering of his heart in his ribcage and instead watching his face intently, trying to commit it all to memory, from the gleam in his eyes and the faint glowing of his freckles to the way his lips looked so wonderfully reddened and swollen from their kissing.

"Are you going to…" Will asked hesitantly as Nico kept staring at those oh-so-kissable lips, and when Nico dragged his gaze back up to his eyes, he found Will glancing at the lube/condom again, though he just seemed hesitant, not actually panicked.

"Do you want to do it yourself?" Nico tried, not exactly wanting to 'suggest' it in case Will had a problem with it, but he needn't have worried.

If anything, Will seemed relieved Nico was giving him that option.

That fool, Nico would do anything and everything to make things easier for him, especially in this situation.

"I…it's okay. If you want to…" Will muttered evasively, his tendency to not allow things to ever be easy for him resurfacing, but Nico cut in by swiftly bringing their lips together and making Will shut up.

"Will, it's okay. I'm perfectly fine with this. Trust me, it's probably much better this way, else I'd freak out internally the entire time and dread doing something wrong until I cry." He admitted shamelessly, because it was the truth, and because he knew the guys knew, and he knew Will knew, so he might as well say it out loud.

Will looked at him with that searching look again, but Nico merely grasped one of his hands and pressed it back against his chest, before he made to grab the lube and move it into Will's other hand.

"Go right ahead, sole mio." He encouraged him, and watched Will swallowing thickly, before he gave a small nod and his lips twitched again, though he seemed unnaturally sheepish.

"I…thank you, Nico." He whispered in reply, but Nico shook his head and leaned up to give him another peck on his nose.

It was okay. Of course he was okay with this. He was more than okay with this.

Will drew a deep breath, then gave another nod, his face reddening as he popped the lid open.

"Okay…this is gonna be awkward, but okay…"

Nonsense.

"Not really. Just do what you like, Will, it's not like I'm gonna judge." He replied with a slight frown, pretty sure he had told him that a hundred times already.

Will's face flushed even more, but then he merely nodded and started worrying his bottom lip, his gaze fixed entirely on Nico as his hand started moving behind him – and Nico had a tough time keeping his own gaze on Will's face, rather than following that movement.

For a moment there was silence as everybody seemed to hold their breath, and Nico was dimly aware that they were angled in a way that Percy and Jason would have a near perfect view of what Will's hand would be doing, which felt immensely unfair – or at least he thought so until Will's expression changed and his eyes fell shut with his lips parting and his shoulders hunching together with a small, weak gasp.

Then, Nico decided he was definitely the lucky one here for getting to see _that_.

His dick twitched, but he tried to keep it down as he watched Will's face intently, his breath hitching and his hands itching to touch Will again as Will started trembling and gasping, his eyes still squeezed tightly shut.

He looked so beautiful.

Nico's mouth worked before his brain did, and the next moment, Will's eyes opened to gaze at him with that almost shy, hopeful look in his eyes that made Nico want to cup his face and kiss him and tell him just how much he loved him over and over again.

So that's exactly what he did.

Will moaned against his lips, trembling at Nico's words and his own doings, and when he shook his head softly and moved it to the side of Nico's neck to hide from him, Nico let him, instead trailing kisses along his skin close to his ear and whispering love confessions and praise and anything he could think of at this very moment – which was surprisingly a lot, especially when he found his gaze moving down Will's back to where he could catch a glimpse of his hand moving.

Oh gods.

His eyes hushed towards Percy and Jason for a moment, who were dead quiet, but also stripped down to their boxer shorts with their chests heaving, and Percy had his face buried at Jason's shoulder with his hands clutching Jason's thigh and his entire body trembling, while Jason had one hand in Percy's hair and his other in the sheets next to them, his eyes most definitely on Will's hand.

Nico knew he should probably feel bad that they were sort of leaving them out of this, but at the same time, he was glad to be able to focus entirely on Will right now, and have Will's undivided attention in return.

Plus, the guys had told them it was fine, and he trusted them to know best.

Will whimpered softly, and Nico kissed the shell of his ear timidly.

"You're doing so well, babe. Take your time. Don't rush it." He whispered and felt Will shivering in reply.

Then Will _moaned_ – a sound that made Nico's dick twitch and his mind go blank with want and need – just to promptly stiffen and fall silent.

Nico gave his ear another kiss, then tugged on his earlobe tentatively.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love the sounds you make, sole mio?" He asked, knowing full well he had, and Will relaxed slightly, a small gasp escaping him again.

"I know…it's just…gods, this is so weird…" His boyfriend whispered, then suddenly gasped _a lot_ louder than before, and his entire body seemed to go rigid for a moment and pressing back into his own hand – before he stopped again, cursing under his breath.

"I think it's amazing. Will, please, I want you to enjoy this." Nico practically pleaded, his hands stroking over Will's sides and tugging him closer again to feel their chests brushing together faintly, even though that only made him crave him all the more.

"I'm…I'm taking forever…" Will whispered, but Nico only shook his head and tugged on his earlobe again.

"Don't rush, sole mio. Remember when you prepped me for Jason? You took such good care of me, so do the same for yourself, yes?" He tried, and Will's body jerked again, a muffled cry escaping him as he buried his face further at Nico's shoulder, his body trembling furiously.

"Color?" He asked, just to make sure Will wasn't having some sort of flashback without saying anything about it.

" _Green_!" Will moaned, then let out a drawn-out groan as the fingers of his free hand dug into Nico's skin, his back arching and his body going rigid again.

Nico caught a glimpse of his hand again, of fingers working themselves in and out of Will, and he closed his eyes to stop himself from moaning out loud, instead returning to his task of nibbling at Will's ear to make him cry out softly.

He was so hot.

Everything about him was.

"I…I haven't done this…in…in so long…" Will started rambling weakly, and Nico felt an odd sense of pride at being allowed to take part in it, then.

"Want to stick to this? We have time, sunshine, if you want to, you can…" He offered, feeling Will's body tremble more and more, a clear sign he was getting close.

But Will immediately shook his head, another small cry escaping his lips.

"No! No, please, I want to…want to…I want to know how it…how it feels…" He insisted, and Nico's heart leaped in his chest.

Will, that tease, had to wrap his hand around his dick right at that moment too to feel it twitch at his words, but Nico couldn't make himself feel embarrassed about that.

He wanted to know, too.

"Okay." He replied, at a loss for anything else to say, and Will continued stroking him while fingering himself, both their bodies trembling and their breathing ragged.

"I…can I try?" Will asked hesitantly after what felt like forever, and Nico had to blink and think hard for a moment what he was talking about.

Then, he could only shrug and give a faint nod.

"If you think you're ready…?" It sounded more like a question than a statement, but Will didn't reply, instead pulling his hand away from his backside to grab for the lube.

It was that moment that Nico managed to catch another glimpse of Will's face, and he was awed by the flushed and disheveled look, the dazed and hopeful – yet also still so uncertain – expression, the vivid blue of his eyes that was barely visible due to black, wide pupils.

Nico's fingers found Will's face without him noticing he had moved his hands, and Will's gaze met his as their lips met, before Nico closed his eyes and tilted his head to deepen the kiss, trying to convey how special this was to him, how special _Will_ was to him, how much he meant to him, how much he loved him.

Will was moving, but not breaking the kiss, and Nico could feel Will's free hand stroking some strands of hair out of his face and tucking them behind his ear, while his other hand moved to Nico's dick again, stroking over it once, twice – then pulling away again, before returning with…

Nico's eyes opened slightly as they kept kissing, feeling Will rolling the condom over him with a mixture of anticipation and awe.

This was the first time _he_ was the one wearing a condom.

It had always been the others up until now.

(Even though Will had told them in order to _actually_ practice safe sex, both parties should be wearing condoms each and every time, it had also been Will to tell them they were clean and wouldn't have to worry about catching anything from each other, so that had settled that.)

Condoms felt _weird_.

Will's lubed hand on his dick a moment later felt terrific though, condom or not, so Nico ignored the momentary rush of discomfort.

His eyes fell shut again as Will pushed against him lightly, his kiss deepening and their tongues dancing as he started moving again, shifting on top of Nico so much Nico was beginning to wonder whether he was uncomfortable and wanted to get off or something.

But when Will's hand stopped stroking Nico and his boyfriend pulled away from his lips to draw a deep breath and lower himself slowly, Nico realized with a jolt that Will, in fact, did _not_ want to get off him.

He more wanted to get _on_ him.

Oh gods.

Oh gods, oh gods, _oh gods_.

This was seriously happening.

Nico tried very hard not to gasp, but his breath hitched, anyways, and all he could do was stare at Will helplessly as his boyfriend bit his lip and had his eyes half-closed and fixed stubbornly on a point at Nico's shoulder, his hand trembling as it guided Nico.

He felt something hot and wet pressing against his tip and his eyes fluttered shut automatically, just to fly open again to keep looking at Will's face, ready to tell him to stop in case he reacted badly.

Will gasped and halted for a moment, rather rubbing against Nico than anything else, but in all honesty, that alone would have been good enough for Nico already.

At least that's what he thought until Will took another deep breath – and Nico felt him pushing inside Will.

Nico couldn't help it – he moaned, loudly and clearly audible in the entire cabin, but there was no way _not_ to, the sensation too good to resist.

Will trembled, his gaze hushing to Nico's face for a moment before hushing away again, then he pushed down further ever so slightly, the progress agonizingly slow, but agonizingly amazing, and Nico had to tear his hands away from Will's sides to prevent himself from holding him too tightly or hurting him in any other way.

"That…that…that feels…oh gods, _Will_ …" He breathed helplessly, victim to the pleasure ripping through him, and Will's breathless, somewhat elated chuckle didn't help one bit.

"Color?" Nico asked dazedly, hoping against all hope Will felt the same way as he did about this.

"D-Don't worry. 's good. Surprisingly good. Just…give me a moment…" Will forced out in reply, his chest heaving as he started lifting and lowering his body on Nico's dick, and Nico could feel that amazingly hot and tight heat engulfing him more and more and more, even if the progress was still agonizingly slow.

A drawn-out, desperate moan sounded from somewhere that wasn't them, and both of them looked around at Percy – who was most definitely watching said progress, and was most definitely at his limit, and was now most _definitely_ looking around at Jason with an expression that screamed ' _Please take me now_!'.

Jason replied by practically lunging at Percy and flattening him into the mattress, making the entire bed shake, and Nico took it the message was well received.

He huffed out a weak sound that might have been a sigh, might have been a laugh, then he gazed back at Will, who was staring at him with wide-blown pupils and his lips parted to allow his breath to come out in gasps.

"Is this…" He started to ask, partly because of Jason and Percy, partly because Will had stopped moving, but he was cut off by Will's lips on his own.

"Kiss me, Nico." His boyfriend ordered, and all Nico could do was finish breathing out his 'okay', before rushing to comply, his hands darting up to move through Will's hair and have something to hold onto.

Will seemed to be desperate for some hold as well as he clutched Nico's shoulders again and resumed lowering himself onto him, pulling up and pushing down and making both of them gasp and moan into their kisses.

There was noise behind them, more moaning and shuffling and gasping, but they were too distracted by their own pleasure to look around or pay much mind to it, and before long, Nico found Will letting out a _wonderful_ , drawn-out moan, his eyes closed and his head tipped back, his expression one of pure bliss – and Nico all the way inside him.

Nico wanted to join in on the moaning.

As it was, he found himself incapable of making any sound at all as he first stared at Will in awe and wonder, then he let his head tip forward and fall against Will's chest/shoulder, the most amazing sensations rushing through him.

He faintly thought he had felt something _similar_ before, back when Percy had first deep-throated him, but even that seemed to pale in comparison to _this_.

Okay, real talk, why had he never taken things further with Percy?

Why had he been so adamant about not-trying this?

"Color?" He pressed out feebly, the word not even making any sense as it jumped to mind, but he wasn't sorry for asking, anyways.

"Don't even go there. This… _gods, Nico_ …" Will moaned, and Nico's lips twitched into a relieved, happy smile as he rubbed his face against Will, knowing full well they were both sweaty messes and this didn't help one bit.

"It feels good, then?" He asked hopefully, and Will let out a weak chuckle, before rocking his hips faintly and making both of them draw a sharp breath.

Okay, that felt _great_.

It felt weird not being on the receiving end, but it still felt so, _so_ great, in an entirely different way, yet it wasn't even all that different.

The thought didn't even make sense inside his head, but he brushed the matter aside as solved, anyways.

"You feel amazing. I'll…I'll try to move, yeah?" Will seemed to ask him for permission, which struck Nico as odd, but also definitely as something Will would do, and he gave a small nod.

"If you're ready, sole mio." He replied, then added 'Does it hurt?' as an afterthought, knowing how uncomfortable it had felt during _his_ first time, even with Percy preparing him so well.

This might not be Will's _first_ time, per se, but it was his first time in quite a while, so he highly doubted Will was as fine as he made it seem.

Will gave him a weak smile, stroking his hair behind his ear again.

"Barely. I'll move now. You can touch me, Nico. Just maybe don't push upwards, okay?"

Nico nodded dazedly, wrapping his mind around those words and mulling them over, trying to figure out whether Will's 'Barely' was directed at being ready or at the question whether it hurt, trying to comprehend why Will thought he'd do anything like push upwards when it was clear Will wanted to set the pace, and Nico was more than fine with that…

But then, all his thoughts came to an abrupt stop as Will started moving slowly, and Nico moaned as his head buried itself further at Will's chest, strings of curses and prayers flying from his lips in what he only later realized was Italian, his hands clutching Will's sides because his life depended on it.

" _Fuck_!" Will gasped ever so eloquently, his face moving into Nico's hair as he wrapped his arms around him tightly, pressing their bodies together as he started riding Nico.

They were a mess – a mess of entangled limbs and moans and groans and sobs and gasps – and Nico thought vaguely that this was not how he had pictured his first time topping to go, but by the gods, it was the best first time topping he could have ever hoped for.

Will ground down, the sweetest sounds escaping his lips, and then he moved out of Nico's tight embrace to look down at him, his expression so far gone it made Nico want to laugh.

"Why are _you_ the one crying?" He asked with a wonderfully raspy voice, and Nico shrugged, not quite sure _why_ there were tears running down his cheeks, and not really aware he had been the one sobbing softly in between moans – but at the same time, the knowledge it wasn't Will who was sobbing kind of made everything else irrelevant.

Will shook his head and leaned forward to kiss him again, his hips beginning to rock once more in a slow, but absolutely perfect rhythm that had them both panting and gasping as they relished the intimacy, the closeness, _this_.

"I love you." Nico whispered, and Will smiled against his lips before giving him another kiss, guiding Nico's hands down to his hips.

"I love you, too. Want to try and move me?"

Nico blinked, then smiled and shook his head.

"I like you in control."

Will didn't seem bothered in the slightest – instead, he seemed a tiny bit relieved as he smirked at Nico and started moving again, his pace slowly picking up.

Nico breathed out a weak moan and leaned forward to let his forehead drop back against Will's chest, which made him look down at Will's much neglected hard-on.

"Want me to touch you?" He asked, feeling stupid for not having asked before, and guilty for not even having thought of that, but Will gave a soft shake of his head as he moved up and down on Nico's dick.

"Not yet. Need to…concentrate…"

On what? Nico decided not to ask, instead giving a small nod before he started placing random kisses to Will's skin wherever he could, his eyes closed as he relished in Will's movements, in Will's heat, in Will around him, in him inside Will, in everything they were doing and all the things they made him feel.

"Color?" He asked against Will's skin when Will started moaning more and more, his pace now definitely quicker and much like how the guys' was when they topped.

"Green." Will panted back without stopping, his head tipping back as his hips rocked forward.

Nico remembered when he had been in a similar position with Percy and how he had nearly gone crazy from needing _more_ , but unable to move fast nor hard enough to grant that satisfaction the closer he had gotten to his orgasm, until Percy had had mercy on them and flipped them over.

In this case, he knew Will definitely didn't want him to do anything of the like, but he wondered whether Will felt a similar need for some sort of support and help to what Nico had felt back then.

His hands stroked over Will's burning skin, from his tense and trembling thighs up to his rib cage and back, just to feel the smooth expanse of skin a moment longer, then Will moved to mouth at the side of his face, asking for his attention.

As if there was anything else in Nico's world right now.

"Sure you don't want to move me? I know I'm not very fast…" Will offered again, and Nico gave him a peck on the lips.

"You're perfect, Will. Do you _want_ me to help?" He asked back, and Will shivered with a small gasp and his eyes looking so hopeful again, it made Nico pull him closer instinctively – which also meant he pushed him down onto him by accident, and promptly drew a sharp cry from Will.

Nico's hands flinched back, an apology already halfway out of his mouth, but Will shook his head wildly and clasped his hand over Nico's lips.

"No. Don't. It's good. _It felt good_. I just…didn't expect it." Will breathed out, a hint of panic in his gaze as he studied Nico, apparently trying to tell whether he wanted to stop or not – which was a laughable thought, since Nico would never want to stop unless it was because Will needed to.

Since Will still had his hand over Nico's mouth, he couldn't reply, so he gave a weak nod to show it was okay, and Will visibly relaxed and started moving again, up and down, his hips rocking in that rhythm again that had Nico's eyes fluttering shut once more.

"Do it again?" Will's voice sounded against his ear, but Nico didn't understand for a moment.

" _Please_." He added, and Nico's eyes flew open again, hands back at Will's hips in an instant.

"No need for 'please' with me, sole mio. Just tell me what you want and I'll do it." He replied and tugged Will forward again, drawing a moan and a shiver out of his blonde – a tad sharper than normal, but not nearly as intense as the other one had been.

"I just want to make love. This time. Next time, we can go faster. Is that okay?" Will asked, sounding hesitant and uncertain, and Nico pulled back to look at his tightly shut eyes and his conflicted expression.

"Of course that's okay. Sounds perfect to me." Nico replied, his mind reeling with the knowledge that Will _wanted there to be a_ _next time_.

He leaned forward to mouth at Will's skin again, and found his boyfriend relaxing with a relieved sigh, before he began moving again.

"Thank you, Nico. Though this does _not_ mean you can stop doing _that_ , mister. Come on, show me what you've got." Will said, his voice turning playfully chiding now that he wasn't panicked anymore, and Nico looked up at him in confusion, before he realized his hands had moved from Will's hips to his thighs, more intent on holding onto him than moving him closer.

Oh wow.

So, wait, Will _really_ wanted him to move him a little?

"What? Think I can't take it?" Will teased, though Nico was pretty sure he wasn't quite as unbothered as he made it sound – especially because bickering and teasing was usually something Will did with Percy (and occasionally Jason), not with Nico.

"Nah, but I'm worried _I_ won't be able to take it. You know how good you feel around me?"

Nico had somehow expected Will to laugh and tease him for that bit of honesty, but was surprised to find Will blinking at him, looking taken aback – before his freckles started glowing.

Like, a lot more than before.

He also blushed.

Okay, just _how much_ did Will like to be complimented?

Nico fought the urge to smile and failed, so he leaned forward with a small smirk, looking Will dead in the eye.

"You feel absolutely _amazing_ , Will. And the way you move? Gods, I will forever be in awe."

If Will had been flustered before, it was nothing to how he looked now, ready to explode as his mouth opened and closed, his eyes wide and his freckles glowing a warm gold.

Nico dared to be bold, stroking over Will's thigh and up to his sides with a deliberate, appraising touch.

"And your skin feels so warm and soft, I could touch you all day. I love feeling your skin against mine." He purred, certainly taking a liking to this.

He could swear he felt Will's dick twitching ominously, though he kept his eyes firmly on Will's face, his hands settling on Will's hips again.

"Want me to continue?" He asked innocently, and Will replied by drawing a deep breath and his whole body trembling.

"Bring it on, Death boy." Will then stated cockily, though his voice was shaking, his freckles were still glowing, and when they moved again, Will moved one of Nico's hands to his dick, giving him permission to touch.

"Your wish is my command, sole mio."

Will only moaned in reply and rocked his hips, and Nico grinned to himself.

He was the luckiest guy in the world.

.

"You. Are. Amazing." Nico stated in utmost conviction, underlining his words by three loud and obnoxious kisses to Will's temple, who was a giggling mess and hit him with a pillow – softly, and barely noticeable, because this was Will, and he was a sweetheart.

"I thought you were done with your worshipping of my awesomeness when I came in the middle of your Italian rant about my thighs." Will remarked dryly, but Nico wasn't perturbed in the slightest.

"Well, they _are_ very nice thighs…" He mused as he moved his hand down and along Will's bare thighs, and Will promptly fell silent.

Nico smirked, and leaned forward to give him another kiss, wondering just how long he could keep Will's lips looking so completely ravished.

"And I'll _never_ be done worshipping your awesomeness, sunshine."

Will smacked him with the pillow again, a small, indignant sound escaping his lips as he muttered something indignant about 'not having been ready for that one'.

Nico snorted and snatched the pillow from him to peck him on the lips again, before throwing the pillow over Will's head at Percy, who was cackling and muttering something to Jason that sounded _a lot_ as if he was mocking him.

Which he probably wasn't, but he _had_ shocked the hell out of Nico earlier, so he deserved it anyways.

Seriously, Nico had been coming down from the high of his orgasm, he had absolutely _not_ expected Percy to suddenly wrap his arms around him without warning, especially not with that sex-slurred, sultry voice against his ear, telling him he was ' _so_ looking forward to have sex with him in the future as well'.

 _Seriously_!

So, yes, he _definitely_ deserved that pillow in his face, even if it was just a method of payback for turning Nico into a flustered mess in less than a second, when he had _just_ been able to speak his mind freely and without hesitance or self-doubt.

Percy wailed, then snorted and threw the pillow right back at him, resulting in them passing the pillow back and forth until Jason snatched it away from both of them, while Will laughed into his fist with his expression so beautifully relaxed and overjoyed it made Nico want to take a photo.

"Guys, make love, not war." Jason chided them with a smirk on his face, and Percy instantly huffed.

"We already did that. Plus, I _tried_ , but Nico clearly didn't want me."

Nico made an indignant face that was only partly acted.

"Percy, you hit on me right after I came. First of all, how dare you, and second of all, you _just_ had sex with Jason, so you can't have been _serious_ …right?"

Percy's mopey expression stayed for maybe a second more, then he grinned from ear to ear and moved his hand to ruffle through Nico's hair, disheveling it even more than Will's hands had done earlier, when he had been on the verge of orgasm and clutched onto any part of Nico he had been able to find.

"Nah, just kidding. Sorry for jumping you, love, you know I just had to get it out. Gods, you two looked so far gone, it was beautiful. Jason thought so, too."

Nico's lips twitched and he made no move to brush Percy's hand away, instead enjoying the touch, which promptly turned from purposeful disheveling to a gentle threading of his fingers through Nico's hair.

"I did. You two looked like you thoroughly enjoyed that." Jason agreed, and Nico knew tomorrow those words would make him blush.

Now though, he merely smiled and glanced back at Will.

Oh, he had certainly enjoyed that.

Will grinned back at him, his eyes gleaming with gratitude Nico wasn't quite sure he deserved, though he didn't point it out.

"I loved it. Seriously, I was shit scared I'd freak out, but…it felt good. Really, really good."

It was sad Will looked so surprised about it as he said that, but Nico didn't point _that_ out, either, instead catching Percy and Jason sharing a look that said the same, though they both grinned the next moment and shuffled closer.

Percy threw his arms around them both in an exaggerated fashion, and they laughed and tried to shoo him away without an inkling of seriousness, just a bit of fun because they felt like it.

This felt nice.

Nico wondered if this was what a relationship really was about – all these small moments of joy and ease between them, of love and consideration, of that warm fuzzy feeling that spread through him, all these moments of peace, and all the moments of loud and exaggerated yelling and making fun of and with each other.

He knew there were bad things, too – fights they hadn't yet had but had gotten close to, bad days like Will had had and that Percy seemed to get closer to with each passing day of training, moments where things felt dull and dark and lonely, and moments in which he felt left out the tiniest bit, though he knew they loved him, and he knew he only felt that way because things were still so new and they were working out how to make the best of their relationship – but all of that seemed like nothing when things were like this.

When they were together like this, joking like this, touching like this.

Will wrapped his arms around him, still laughing and moving his forehead to the top of Nico's head, letting him see that wonderful smile up close, and Nico smiled automatically, too, wondering how things had ever _not_ been like this.

All in all, he'd say a relationship was absolutely worth it.

It was difficult to speak up sometimes, and the fact they were four people – and four _guys_ – rather than a boy and a girl made them still get a lot of looks or stupid questions and remarks, and a relationship seemed to need _a lot_ of work, _constantly_ , to keep up with all the changes around and inside oneself, but, in the end, Nico still believed it was worth it.

More than worth it.

It might not be what all people needed, but _he_ needed it, and he would never be able to put it into words just how much he loved these three guys, how happy he was that he had them in his life, how amazing it felt to know that they loved him, too.

Will was gazing at him now, his expression immeasurably soft, and Nico knew he could feel it, could understand more than anyone else just how far gone Nico was for them.

"I love you too, Nico." His boyfriend whispered, and Percy and Jason looked around, apparently intrigued by that exchange as they immediately moved closer and created their typical happy bundle of entangled limbs and way too much heat that was going to kill Nico one of these days.

(It was definitely time for Leo's A/C.)

"Is anyone doubting my affections?" Percy asked with playful incredulity, and Nico shook his head with a soft smile.

"Nah, just thinking this is really nice."

They smiled at him, their expressions alone already telling him they agreed.

"It is. You know, I had a hard time understanding that picture of yours, Percy. I never quite knew what you meant. Now…now I think I know." Jason mused, and Nico frowned, sharing a questioning look with Will before looking at Percy, wondering what picture he was talking about.

Percy looked stunned for a moment, his ears turning a bright shade of red as he looked at Will and Nico, but then he smiled, shooting Jason a pointed look.

"Told you so! It's the most beautiful picture in the world."

What were they talking about? What picture?

Jason gave Percy a surprisingly soft-looking kiss, followed by a smile and that expression that Nico knew from experience made one feel like the most important person in Jason's life.

"That it is. I still think you should paint it."

 _Paint?_

 _What picture?!_

"Hell no. That would ruin it. You just…you gotta _feel_ that picture, bro. There simply aren't enough colors in this world to get it across right." Percy argued adamantly, and Jason rolled his eyes at 'bro', but didn't mention it.

Percy would always be Percy, after all, and they loved him this way.

"I agree. To be honest, I just really want to see you struggling with a brush, many colors, and a canvas. Anyways, you know what you should definitely do? Tell your boyfriends. They're going to explode with curiosity if you don't."

How kind of Jason to notice.

Percy smacked the previously abused pillow into Jason's face, then turned to look at Will and Nico, his expression somewhere between eagerness, fluster and hesitation.

Both Nico and Will raised their eyebrows expectantly, and Percy's lips twitched into a sheepish smile, before he cleared his throat.

"Okay, this is probably going to sound really weird, but hear me out…" He started, and Will and Nico shared one last, curious look, before they returned their attention to Percy, listening to a story of colors, elements and emotions, of peace and quiet as well of storms and troubles, of holding together and letting go, of things that Nico felt inside him and Percy put into words, conjuring up a picture that seemed to sort out Nico's turmoil of feelings better than anything he had ever managed to do by himself.

It was that moment that Nico knew a relationship was most definitely worth it, always, and no matter the obstacles in their way.

It was also that moment that he realized the guys might just be as far gone for him as he was for them.

 _Maybe_.


	11. Chapter 11: The Importance Of A Break

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes! :D

First of all: I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG WITH THE UPDATE!

As some of you already know, I had to get an emergency surgery out of nowhere (ruptured appendix and inflammation of the abdominal wall, kinda hardcore sucked) which first had me stuck in the hospital and then at my parents' house for recovery.

Meaning I couldn't really write much and thus couldn't update, either. (Who would have guessed sitting could be so painful?)

Buuuuut I am a lot better now again, and back at work, AND I can write again - so updates should happen frequently again :)  
(Though I AM starting a new job in January and not yet sure how that will affect my writing time, but I'll give an update on that once I know more)

Thank you so much for sticking to the story, and thanks to everybody who Fav's and/or reviews. You're the best!

As for this chapter...it got trigger warnings ;/ Kind of sucks that the first thing I do upon coming back from pain and misery is upload a chapter with pain and misery, but...those two were totally unrelated to each other, I swear.

Hopefully, you'll still enjoy it, though..

* * *

 **Trigger Warnings:**  
\- Tartarus  
\- Angst  
\- Pain/Death  
\- Fear/Doubts

Oh yeah, and there's rimming in here somewhere. If you don't want to read that, I'd advice skipping Will's POV (once things go sexual, anyways)

* * *

Hopefully until next weekend!

Wish you all the best,  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 11: The Importance Of A Break**

The morning after Will and Nico had had sex, Will woke up with a start and a barely muffled scream, but Percy couldn't say that had really surprised him.

What had surprised him was that Will hadn't fled the bed, even if it may have seemed like that at first.

No, instead, he had turned and grabbed Percy's shoulder, who had already been in the process of waking up because of the noise, the movement, and the fact that very thing had been at the back of his mind already, nagging at him to pay attention even in his mostly asleep state – though that gesture had woken him up in an instant and made him wrap his arms around a shaking Will, whispering reassurances and words of comfort as he had (ever so lovingly) kicked Jason to wake up and wake Nico and help.

It had been horrible to see Will struggle with his fears and the dread and the horrors of his past, but the fact he had come to him immediately, and the four of them had gotten through it together, had definitely made an impact, and Percy had still thought of it for the rest of the day, as well as the next few.

Will talked to them more now, told them when something was bothering him.

It still seemed difficult for him most of the time, but it was clear he was trying, and Percy had to resist the urge to wrap himself around him and tell him how amazed and proud he was that he tried, though he knew Will would understand.

He just didn't want him to ever think he doubted that Will _could_ do it, because, if anybody could face their past and work through it, it was Will.

Percy? Not so much.

In a way, he should have expected it.

The training was getting worse and worse, the _Capture the Flag_ games were a joke, the yelling of his teammates and the sound of clashing weapons in the distance when he wasn't there to see the 'battle' still freaked him out and made his skin crawl, and Kyle hadn't made any more moves to take over Will's dreams in any way, according to Will _and_ Nico.

So, of course, when things were getting better for the rest of them, the Fates _obviously_ just had to turn to him for another major plot twist.

In this case: Percy was having a nightmare.

He knew it was a nightmare, because he had been nowhere near a certain big-ass, dark door looming over him the last time he had been awake.

He hadn't been near said big-ass, dark door looming over him in the middle of a poisoned, dead and dying environment that made his skin crawl, his stomach clench and his vision blurry as he fought the stench that filled the air and the hopelessness trying to grab hold of him.

 _Tartarus_.

He hadn't seen it in so long, had managed to push it effectively off his mind whenever he fell asleep with his arms around his guys.

Now, it felt as if he had never left.

Percy tried to will himself awake, but it felt as if he already was, and as he looked around, he was met with the same sight that always awaited him here.

Was it ever going to leave him alone?

Was he ever going to get away?

A wave of indefinable stench smacked him in the face and he coughed, turning away from the wasteland before him, only to find himself face to face with Bob – a faceless Bob.

'You left me behind.' Faceless-Bob stated in a cold, not-Bob-like voice, and Percy's skin crawled, the guilt resurfacing instantly as he remembered, _remembered_ – and Bob's face started building up before his eyes, his form strengthening because of Percy's thoughts, his guilt, his memory.

Percy knew it was fake.

Percy couldn't help it, anyways.

'You told me to. I couldn't save you.' He pressed out, though it wasn't the apology Bob deserved.

But this wasn't Bob.

He had to keep telling himself this wasn't Bob.

Percy turned away, but there was Damasen, also faceless, though it still felt as if he was looking at him, judging him, blaming him.

' _Why are you alive_?'

He wasn't sure which one of them asked, but it didn't matter, the words still cut through Percy like a knife.

Then, he realized there _was_ a knife, right there, sticking out of him – Annabeth's dagger, the one that was forever lost in Tartarus.

It was as if it was mocking him, too, for being abandoned, just as he had abandoned everyone else.

' _Why are you alive_?' The voice asked again, and Percy turned away and started running.

The next moment, he was surrounded, though he didn't immediately know _what_ surrounded him.

There was just Damasen and Bob and Small Bob, but then, suddenly, there was Ethan, there was Luke, there was Silena and Beckendorf and Bianca and Zoe, Michael and Lee and Leah and even Octavian, among countless numbers of campers and hunters and amazons, some faceless, some with faces he didn't recognize, never having known their names, yet it was his fault they were dead.

The moment he saw them, the moment it hit him who they were, the talking started, the questions, the exclamations and the threats and accusations – and Percy recoiled, trying to block it out, trying not to listen, trying to tell himself it wasn't real.

He tried to run, but they were holding him back.

For a moment, he considered using Riptide against them, but the thought made him sick to his stomach, and the accusations immediately worsened, as if they were able to feel his thoughts and intentions.

He clapped his hands over his ears, turning around in circles as he tried to find a way out, any way out, but they were everywhere, and there was so much blood on his hands.

Percy yelled at them to stop, pleaded with them to understand, telling them he hadn't meant to abandon them, hadn't meant to let them die.

He had never asked to be a hero, and had never claimed to be one, much less a good one.

They didn't care. Didn't listen.

Maybe they didn't even hear him.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, his voice stopped working, his lips moving with no sound coming out, and their voices grew louder and louder, their shapes getting more and more distinct, their expressions full of scorn and hatred and resentment and anger.

Because they were dead.  
Because he was alive.

Because they were dead.  
Because he let them die.

Because they were dead.  
Because they would never live again, and it was his fault.

Percy tried to close his eyes, his ears, his mind, everything, but the more he tried, the less he could.

At long last, he caved in and tried to grab Riptide, but the sword, too, had abandoned him, back in Zoe's hands as she stroked over the blade, telling him he wasn't worthy of it, that he had broken his promises, that he had abandoned them all and deserved worse than death.

There was chanting now, and somebody shoved him from behind, then somebody else from the side, and then, he was being pushed around from all sides, though he wasn't fighting back.

He _couldn't_ fight back.

They were right.

Of course they were right.

Percy buried his face in his hands as tears fell from his eyes, but then his hands were ripped from his face and he was forced to face them again, and he couldn't take it.

He yelled, he screamed, he told them to stop it, to let him go, that he hadn't meant it, that there was nothing he could have done, nothing he could do now, but they kept up their accusations, kept repeating his mistakes to him, kept chanting they would show him how it felt.

There were new beings among them now, and he recognized them as the Curses, the _Arai_ , but the moment he realized, it was already too late, and even though he hadn't attacked them, it was as if the anger and resentment of those he had abandoned did all the damage, and he was the one suffering all the pain, all the curses, _everything_.

He felt the heat of an explosion, searing through his skin, his bones, his _being_ , but by the time he thought he was dead, it was gone, replaced by the feeling of falling, falling endlessly, until he knew he would die, and then that was gone, too.

He could feel the pain of a dagger stabbing him under his left arm, close to his underarm, and felt himself fading, but then he was back, feeling as if he was stuck inside something big and dark and scary, before that seemed to blow up, too, tearing him along with it.

He felt something slamming into the top of his head, shaking his entire body before shifting and crumpling underneath him, but then he was already laying prone, feeling as if something had smacked him in the face, a poison that seeped into his skin and caused unbelievable agony – before that, too, stopped.

He felt himself washing away with the tide, coming out worse for the wear, and just wondering why he wasn't dying, when death came in the form of a curved blade (scythe?) to his chest and the feeling of his entire body tearing apart – shattering – into a million pieces, until there was nothing left.

He felt himself taking off the ground and searing into nothingness, just to explode.

He felt himself dying, over and over and over again, in countless ways, some similar, some worlds apart, one worse than the other, yet all were horrible, all were cruel, none of them were deserved.

Then he felt himself being abandoned to face endless torture.

Percy sobbed, trying to curl into himself, trying to end it, trying to will it all away, but he couldn't, it didn't work, he wasn't strong enough, he had never been, because he wasn't like Nico, he wasn't like Jason, he wasn't like Will.

They were strong, they could face things much worse than what Percy had faced, and they could push past it and move on.

But Percy couldn't.

He had tried, and he had thought he had managed to make peace with those he had left behind, but Tartarus didn't seem to care, seemed to thrive on bringing it all up again, opening old wounds Percy had tried to patch up and leaving him to suffer through them once more, over and over again.

The hopelessness was like a swarm of insects, crawling over his skin and trying to find a way in – and in a moment of weakness, he let it in, let it flow free in his veins, let it take him over.

He was falling through the dead and poisoned ground, and then there was water, and he washed away in the tide, the hopelessness growing and growing and consuming him, memories swirling through his mind, some his own, some not, but all of them dark, all of them bad, all of them showing the unfairness of the world and the cruelty of the people in it.

' _Why are you alive_?'

He didn't know who asked.

It didn't matter.

"I don't know." He replied blankly, because it was the truth.

Percy vaguely realized he was drowning and wondered whether this was real after all, or whether this was a death somebody else had experienced because of him.

He didn't fight it.

There was nothing to fight.

Percy stared up at the surface of the water, but everything there was as bleak and dead as he felt.

Percy let himself drown, the sound of Tartarus' laughter filling the world…

"Percy, _wake up_!"

A yell, a burst of blinding white, shaky hands cupping his face, unbelievable warmth.

Percy's eyes snapped open, his hands flying up to clutch at a pair of warm and trembling wrists, his gaze still unfocused and his lungs lurching as he tried to _breathe_ , while his heart seemed to shatter his ribcage, his entire body shaking worse than he had ever experienced.

"Percy!" Will's voice cut through the noise that didn't exist, an urgent hiss that wasn't even all that loud but seemed to shatter his entire being and Percy blinked, his eyes focusing and settling on Will, the owner of the hands on his face, the owner of that warmth, the owner of the wrists he was currently crushing.

Percy made a small, strangled sound, then rushed forward, his hands letting go of Will's wrists in order to wrap around his body, to pull him close, to pull him against him, to _feel_ him.

He choked back a sob, but then realized he was already crying, so it didn't matter.

Will held him tightly, rubbing circles on his back and whispering reassurances into his hair with a shaky voice as Percy curled into his chest, whimpering and sobbing and still trembling so, so badly.

That had been bad.

That had been _so_ bad.

Tartarus was always bad, but it had been so long since he had last been there, last seen the place in his dreams, last felt its presence in his mind.

This time it had been worse than before.

So much worse.

"Shh, it's okay, you're safe. We're here, Percy. Everything is okay. Breathe. It was just a nightmare. You're safe." Will whispered, his stroking relentless and soothing, his warmth seeping through Percy's ice-cold skin, his voice shaking but still confident and a pillar for Percy to hold onto.

He clung to him as if he was still falling, as if he was still drowning, but Will only held him all the more, pressing their bodies tightly together and kissing the top of his head with a small, shaky breath.

"Do you want me to wake Nico?" He asked, and Percy wanted to nod, but then he shook his head.

His mind was a mess.

He wanted Nico to wake up, but he didn't want him to stop dreaming because of him.  
He wanted Nico to help him, but he didn't want to make him face his own horrors again because of him.  
He wanted Nico to wake up, and a part of him wanted to ask him why he was suffering like this and Nico wasn't.

Percy felt as if something tore him aside from the inside, the thought so alien to him, the thought of _blaming Nico_ so unlike himself, it made him feel wrong, it made him feel like he wasn't himself, like something else was he and he was elsewhere, maybe somewhere far away, maybe still stuck, stuck in Tartarus, maybe he had never left…

His breath hitched and he clawed Will's back in a fit of despair and fear, knowing he hurt him when he felt him flinch and heard him hiss under his breath, though he didn't let go of him.

"Percy, it's okay, you're awake, you're here, you're safe. Percy, you're not there anymore. I'll never let you go there again, I told you that. I won't let you fall, Percy. I'll never let you fall. Percy, look at me. It wasn't real. Whatever you saw, it wasn't real." Will urged him to understand and tried to make Percy look up at him, and Percy let out another whimper, the tears falling from his eyes and running over his cheeks, his nose, his face, like the insects that had crawled over him, into his skin, inside him…

Percy jolted, jumped, trying to get them away, trying to wipe them off his skin, but Will snatched his hands before he even got to his face, holding them tightly clasped in his own and forcing Percy to look at him.

"Percy! _Focus_!"

Percy stopped dead, staring at Will with wide eyes and held breath, shocked to hear his voice so harsh, so absolute, not allowing a no, like an order Percy wasn't able to refuse.

He stared at him, and then, he stared at the freckles on his skin, barely visible in the dark, but he knew they were there.

Percy started counting the way he always caught himself doing when he was close enough to, and slowly, ever so slowly, he started relaxing, started allowing himself to breathe again, started nodding his head weakly and lowering his gaze in guilt.

Will let go of his hands slowly, as if unsure whether he might not attempt to hurt himself, but when Percy made no move to, his boyfriend let out a small breath and inched closer, his hands making their way back to cup his face and wipe his tears away.

"Shh, it's okay. You're safe, Percy. You're here with us. You were never gone."

Percy closed his eyes and nodded weakly, soaking up his words and taking all the reassurance he could from them.

He had never been gone.

It had just been a nightmare.

Tartarus hadn't been real.

It had all just been a really fucked up dream.

…But then why had it felt so real?

"I'm going to wake up Nico." Will said quietly, and Percy wanted to stop him, but then didn't, instead trying to find the urge that had made him want to lash out at Nico so he could kill it, smother it while he still had the chance – but it was already gone, as if it had never been there, and the thought of thinking it had been there was suddenly more worrisome than the thought of it being there.

Will turned away from him with his hand still on his cheek, but Percy still clutched at his shirt, anyways, unable to let go of the fear he'd let go of him, he'd let him fall, he'd let him get dragged right back into hell.

He didn't see Will waking Nico, but he could hear a whispered exchange of words, of Nico mumbling something in his sleep, of Will explaining, and then Nico seemed awake immediately, moving to take Will's place.

Nico's hands were much, much cooler than Will's, but his face held an understanding Will's couldn't quite reach, and Percy felt the last bit of tension escaping his body as he broke down and sobbed all over again, letting it all out while Nico seemed to cry along with him without tears.

There weren't any words exchanged, but there was also nothing to say, and the silence stretched on between them and around them while they held each other.

It still hurt, but he wasn't alone, and somehow, it helped.

Will was still there, sitting next to them and watching them, Percy could feel it, but he wasn't upset about it.

Will wasn't staring at them like animals at the zoo, or like a problem to solve, nor did he look at them with pity.

There was understanding that Percy didn't understand, not quite the same as Nico's, but it was still there, and a voice in the back of his mind nagged at him to question it, but he was too tired to listen, instead brushing the thought aside for a later time.

He held onto Nico, and after what felt like forever, long enough to make one wonder why they didn't just fall back asleep again, his boyfriend shifted, moving his hands from around Percy to his shoulder blades and tugging him against him until it was _almost_ painful.

"We're safe here, Percy." Nico said quietly, and even though it was the same thing Will had said, it was worlds apart, because Nico had been there, too, and had felt the same hopelessness Percy had felt, and he understood the fear of never leaving that place, of never getting away from it, of being stuck there forever.

Percy nodded weakly, and his mind seemed to zap through the nightmare like others went through TV channels, snippets of different sensations and moments appearing and disappearing.

"It felt so real." He whispered, and Nico nodded, because he knew, and the realization he knew both reassured and pained Percy.

He also saw Will nodding faintly, but put that aside for a different time, too.

"It always does, Percy. But it wasn't. It wasn't here. We're safe here."

"I…I felt them, Nico. I felt them dying…" Percy confided with a cracking voice, though he wasn't sure why he was telling him this, why it even mattered, because it absolutely didn't, and Nico would be better off not knowing.

"It wasn't your fault." Nico whispered and stroked through his hair, his eyes soft and understanding and honest.

"They said it was. They…they made me feel it, Nico. It was like…like I died in their place, the way it should have been, and I just-…"

Nico's finger was on his lips in an instant, his eyes wide and pained.

"Don't. Don't say things like that, Percy. It wasn't your fault. You…don't. Death is nothing we can control, Percy. It should _not_ have been you. Never ever."

Percy shook his head, pulling away slightly as he tried to control his thoughts, his breathing, the pain that was building in his chest again.

' _Why are you alive_?'

He didn't know.

He should have died so many times before.

Why hadn't he died?

"Sometimes, people die, Percy, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. You can fight it, you can mourn them, you can live your whole life feeling guilty and responsible for their deaths, but it doesn't make them any less dead." Will said soberly, and Percy's eyes shot open, anger flashing through him that Will dared to say that, that Will said that in that calm and collected voice, as if it was obvious, as if Percy was stupid.

What did Will know of death?!

The truth hit him in the face when Will turned his head to look at him, infinite sorrow in his deep blue eyes.

 _Of course_ Will knew death.

Will was the one constantly confronted with it, and in ways _they_ would never know.

Percy had seen people dying all around him, but Will was the one who had them dying in his care, who had them dying in his arms, who had them dying under his fingertips, and Will was the one who could _feel_ them dying, too.

Guilt washed out all anger as he opened his mouth, trying to find the words to apologize for the outburst he had only had in his mind, but that had still happened, and had happened unfairly – but Will shook his head softly, showing him there was no need.

Percy stared at him, then at Nico, then back, his mind a swirl of guilt and memories, of pain and death and loss, of deaths and people that had died, and how he had felt their deaths, now able to put a person to the death, like putting a name to a face.

"Do you want to try and sleep again? Or would you like to stay up? It's barely 4am, but I'm sure we'd be able to fetch some food and play some games until later, if you want." Will offered quietly, but Percy shook his head tiredly.

"I…let's sleep, I guess. I don't know. I'll try?" He mumbled awkwardly, but both Will and Nico nodded in understanding, before Will moved to climb over them and laid down behind Percy, giving him a small kiss to his temple.

"I'll help you fall asleep. Sorry for not getting to you sooner. I…I was on the other side of the bed, so it took a while to realize what I was feeling was…well, nothing inside my own dream…" Will apologized hesitantly, but Percy shook his head, already more than glad Will had managed to wake him up, at all.

"It's okay. I'm sorry for waking you up because of this. I…I should have been able to fight it." He muttered, but now it was Will adamantly shaking his head.

"No need to apologize, Percy. It's not your fault." Will whispered, but Percy still thought he could have fought.

Nico would have probably managed to fight it.

He glanced at Nico, but found him shaking his head.

"I can't stop them from coming, either. They just show up and don't let go until I wake up at some point, even if it feels like years pass in the meantime." His boyfriend confided in a quiet voice, and Percy's heart ached at the realization that this, too, was a pain they both shared, though that didn't lessen the burden of it.

Not for the first time in his life, and surely not for the last, Percy resented the gods for forcing them into all of this, into this world, into these fights, into the horrors that were Tartarus, all because they weren't able to _not_ fuck up for once.

"I will get you out." Will said quietly, a promise that both assured and pained Percy, but it helped drag his mind away from the gods and back to his boyfriends, who wrapped their arms around him and kept him close and protected.

He looked past Nico towards Jason, who was still peacefully sleeping with his back to them.

At least he hadn't woken him up.

Percy knew it would have only pained Jason to see him like this, and it would have pained Percy to be seen like this by Jason.

Not because he was ashamed of his fear of Tartarus, or his tears, but because he knew there was nothing Jason could have done, because he hadn't been there, and he didn't understand like Nico did, and Percy was glad about that, because it meant Jason was spared that pain.

Why Will could understand, he didn't know, but a part of him liked being ignorant, and the rest of him was too tired to start a new conversation now, especially one that would probably not even make sense to anybody or anything but his own whirling and confused mind.

Will stroked through his hair, then moved his fingers to Percy's temples, and Percy pushed his arm under his head to get more comfortable and make it a bit easier on Will to do whatever it was he thought he was doing.

Percy didn't question it, trusting his boyfriend unconditionally.

Warmth seeped from the touch into his skin, and he closed his eyes with a last, long look at Nico, who was gazing right back at him with a look that said he'd protect him for the rest of the night, same as Will would.

It was reassuring, to have such amazing boyfriends.

Thoughts crossed his mind again as he started feeling more and more tired, flashes of his nightmare coming back to him, of the deaths he had experienced, of the pain they had experienced, of a curved blade against his chest…

Percy's last thought before he fell into a dreamless sleep, was that, even though this had been 'nothing but a dream', it surely had felt absolutely real.

...

Percy was a bit how Nico used to be like as a child whenever he had been sick.

Which was to say, his boyfriend was unusually clingy (even for Percy's standards) and cuddly, hogging Nico while simultaneously rubbing his cheek against Jason's arm, as if worried they'd disappear the moment he let go of them.

Neither of them said a single word against this, though.

Nico would _never_ say anything against it, knowing full well how Percy had to feel right now, with his nightmare undoubtedly still fresh on his mind.

He knew the fear only all too well, himself.

That fear of not knowing what was reality and what was dream, of being unable to tell the difference, of letting down one's guard for a moment, just to find it _was_ just a dream, a dream inside a nightmare, a fleeting glimpse of hope only to be torn from his hands as he was shoved into a dark and tight space, the inside of a jar, the only way out blocked, everything black and dead and-…

Nico closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath, before wrapping his arms tightly around Percy, giving him what they both needed.

Yes, he could understand Percy way too well.

Jason didn't seem disturbed by the blatant show of affection either, even though they were kind of sitting in the middle of an already overly crowded dining pavilion.

While Nico personally preferred the quiet, especially when recovering from nightmares about _thatplace_ , Percy seemed to feel much more at ease with all the noise around him, which was why they had decided against eating in the cabin.

Nico just wished Will could have come with them immediately, instead of suddenly running off right before they had reached the dining pavilion.

Seriously, that guy.

He hated it when they left to pick up food, but if _he_ decided it was a good idea to bolt to do gods knew what, that was of course perfectly alright and wouldn't worry the rest of them one bit.

Nico would love to be genuinely upset, but he had a hunch what Will was trying to do, especially since he had taken off into the direction of the Big House.

Percy might act like he was mostly fine, and his need for physical contact wasn't all that unusual, but Nico could see it in the still ever so haunted look in his eyes that he was in no conditions to give lessons today.

He already didn't like the lessons to begin with, not since they had been split up, but to force him to cope with the nightmare, the kids, the fighting _and_ the split up sounded like a very, _very_ bad and cruel thing to do, and if there was one person that could spare Percy that fate, it was Will.

"Percy, your pancakes are getting cold." Jason pointed out quietly as he stroked over Percy's side, his eyes fixed on their boyfriend worriedly, but Nico wasn't surprised Percy's only reaction was a small sigh before he rubbed his cheek against Jason's shoulder again.

He wouldn't feel like eating right now, either – in fact, he already didn't, and it hadn't even been him who had suffered through the nightmare.

In a way, he wished Clovis could have gotten him for that, too; could have let him know and bring him into Percy's dream to help, same as he had done for Nico.

But at the same time, the mere thought of going to _that_ place again, dream or not, was already enough to make Nico's blood run cold in his veins and his skin crawl, panic rising inside him to the point it was getting hard to breathe.

Nico let his gaze roam the pavilion, equally amazed and disturbed by how many kids could fit into such a small-seeming space as he focused on them, rather than his own thoughts.

His gaze met Annabeth's, who seemed to know what had happened just by looking at Percy for a moment, her expression of understanding one that only the two of them would understand.

It was cruel that they knew.

It was amazing they had made it out of Tartarus alive, but at the same time, it was horrible they had to put up with that place, in the first place.

It was no surprise that Percy would be so bitter about the gods after all this time, Nico would be, too.

Nico tore his gaze away from her, instead looking back at Jason.

He had half expected him to upset once he found out they hadn't woken him up for Percy's nightmare, but Jason had been nothing but understanding.

The blonde had woken up not too long after Percy had finally fallen asleep, apparently because he had heard Will and Nico talking, even though they had tried to be as quiet as possible, and Nico had seen the concern in his gaze when he had looked at Percy, even before they had even told him about the nightmare.

Apparently, Jason had found it alarming that Percy hadn't been moving, hadn't been snoring, and hadn't been drooling – and to Nico, hearing such a statement had been one of the most adorable and Jason-like things in the world and proved only all the more just how much Percy really meant to Jason, though he hadn't said anything about it.

Instead, Will and Nico had smiled at each other with a soft, knowing look, before turning to explain to Jason what had happened, even if they hadn't said much – in fact, neither of them had even said it out loud it had been about Tartarus.

Jason had understood, anyways.

He hadn't been upset, hadn't even seemed surprised or asked why, instead moving closer and joining their group hug wordlessly with gentle forehead kisses, even though they hadn't been the victims.

At least not yet.

Nico knew that, if Percy was beginning to get nightmares of that place again, it was only a matter of time until it started haunting _him_ again, too.

Maybe he shouldn't have complained about his sex dreams so much, then.

"I don't feel like it." He heard Percy say, and it was such an un-Percy-like thing to say it caught Nico's attention, even though he hadn't heard the rest of the conversation before this.

"Want me to feed you, then?" Jason asked patiently, making Nico realize they were still talking about the food-issue.

Yeah, Percy should definitely eat.

Plus, Jason had gone through so much work to get the amount of syrup _just_ right – something that Percy so far hadn't even noticed, because he hadn't bothered looking down at his plate yet, too caught up in being close to them and rubbing his hands over their thighs while making small sounds that were either something like an appreciating hum or small wails that demanded more attention and less movement.

Right now, Percy was whining, his face scrunched up as he rubbed it against Jason's arm shoulder stubbornly, but Jason moved to grab Percy's plate, anyways, and Nico watched him trying and failing to work with his left arm alone, since Percy was ever so insistently hogging the other one.

"You should eat, Percy." Nico said quietly, promptly drawing Percy's attention.

He didn't want to say it, since he knew all too well they all knew plenty enough things, but sometimes, there were moments when they simply _couldn't_ do them.

Nico knew how nauseated _he_ usually felt after such nightmares, but…he also knew that the few times when Will had found him after said nightmares and had made him eat, he _had_ always felt better.

Percy's eyes bore into him for a moment, studying his face as if contemplating his words and the sincerity behind them.

Then, his boyfriend let out a long sigh and nodded, letting go of Jason's arm as well as Nico and sitting up correctly once more.

"I guess you're right, love. Well, in that case, bring it on, Jace." Percy declared, though he didn't look very enthusiastic.

He did however open his mouth obediently as Jason started feeding him with a grateful glance towards Nico, so all was well.

Nico turned away to look at all the other kids in the dining pavilion again, but before he could let his thoughts wander, he felt Percy poking him in the cheek.

"You should eat too, you know." His boyfriend chided, and Nico made a face, just to find Jason giving a small nod in agreement, his gaze way too intense for Nico's liking.

Nico weighed his options for a moment, but he just knew Percy would feel even worse if Nico made a fuss now, not to mention that this would probably make Percy stop coming to Nico for things like this, and he definitely didn't want that.

Plus, he had a hunch Jason and Percy wouldn't hesitate to feed _him_ either, and there was no way he was letting that happen, at least not in a crowded dining pavilion with no valid reason.

So Nico relented and looked down at his breakfast, deciding it probably tasted a lot better than his mind was making him believe.

"You can always have some of my pancakes, love. Jason did okay this time with the syrup. I mean, of course there is always space for _more_ syrup, but…"

"Don't even go there, Percy. Will is the one who loves drenching his pancakes in syrup, not you. You just don't want to admit that I've done a good job making you breakfast." Jason cut in unimpressed, and Nico agreed.

Percy opened his mouth with an expression that said he was more than ready to pick a fight – but then he didn't, merely shrugging and letting out a deep sigh, before leaning over and giving Jason a kiss on the cheek.

"Fine, I admit, you did a splendid job with the pancakes, Sparky. They're delicious."

Nico's lips split into a soft smile.

Aww, he had such adorable boyfriends.

Jason blinked surprised, clearly not having expected so much honesty, much less praise, but then he smiled back at Percy affectionately and fed him another piece of pancake.

"Thanks. They're made with lots of love."

Nico shook his head with a small grin, watching them in amusement as he started eating his own breakfast – which honestly didn't even taste all that bad, he had no idea what he had been worried about.

"Jason, you didn't even _make_ them, you just conjured them up on my plate." Percy remarked with a teasing grin on his face, and Jason batted his eyelashes at him innocently, which looked absolutely weird, but still kind of endearing.

"So? They're still conjured up with lots of love, then. Can't you taste the difference?"

In reply, Percy chewed the next forkful of pancakes with a concentrated, thoughtful look on his face, and Nico decided he'd never get tired of watching his boyfriends being this way.

"Yeah, you're right. They taste almost as good as your kisses."

Such saps.

Nico loved them.

He was about to return his attention to his own plate, when a fork suddenly nudged against his lips, leaving syrup sticking to his mouth and making him look up again with a startled, confused look – just to find Percy holding the fork and grinning at him.

"Have some, Nico. They're perfect."

Oh. He had sort of thought they'd be too hung up on each other right about now to still pay attention to him.

Nico smiled and took the bite, just to have Percy lean in closer to give him a loud and obnoxious kiss on the lips to lick away the left-over syrup.

Eww, Percy!

The pancakes were delicious, of course, but did Percy _really_ have to do _that_? Right here where people could see?

Disgusting boyfriend.

(Though he still loved him dearly.)

"If you ever lick my face like that again, I'm going to…" He started sourly, but then trailed off as his eyes found a certain somebody moving towards their table with a triumphant grin on his face.

"Will!" He called instead, and heard Percy huffing indignantly and turning towards Jason.

"Did you just see that? He just went from doom and gloom to utmost joy. Jason, I think he doesn't love me anymore. Or he's cheating on me with Will. What do you think?" He asked in a deadly serious tone, and Nico shot him a dark look before deciding to ignore him, instead looking back towards Will and hoping his expression meant what he hoped it meant.

"I think you're being overly dramatic, Percy. He loves you very much. Didn't you listen when I told you he gets horribly possessive over you when we sleep? He hogs you more than you and I try to hog Will, even though you drool us a river every night." Jason replied patiently, but Nico decided to ignore that, too.

He did _not_ hog _anybody_ in his sleep, though.

In fact, he preferred it when those three were all curled up around each other and left him in peace, because seriously, their bed got _way too hot_ when they were cuddling.

Also, Nico didn't really want them to notice when he was having stupid dreams again.

Percy was about to reply, when Will (finally) reached their table and let himself flop down next to Nico, even though Jason would have been much closer.

"I'm back. Who missed me?"

"Nico." Percy and Jason replied immediately, the same moment Nico said "I did.", causing Will to halt in the motion of stealing Nico's hot chocolate as he blinked at them, before he let out a small laugh.

"Aww, how adorable. And wait, you two sorry sods didn't miss me? I'll remember that." Their blonde remarked with what sounded more like amusement than anything else, but Percy and Jason of course immediately started professing their _undying_ love to him and that they had missed him _endlessly_.

Will acted unconvinced, though he was also drinking Nico's hot chocolate and eating Percy's pancakes while letting Jason reach past Percy and Nico to stroke through his hair, so they all knew he was just playing, same as they were.

"Yeah, yeah. To the moon and back, huh? Well, you _better_. I'm awesome. Oh yeah, which reminds me: Percy, I've got super awesome news for you." Will announced, and Nico perked up even before Percy did.

Yes? So he had succeeded?

Percy looked intrigued, yet clueless, while Jason studied Will with a similarly hopeful expression to Nico's.

Will, however, decided to torture them some more by not immediately spilling the beans, instead continuing to eat their food and drink Nico's hot chocolate in peace.

"Well, what is it? Did the arena burn down?" Percy asked impatiently and hopefully at the same time, even though they had _seen_ the arena when they had walked to breakfast together.

It was kind of sad that this was Percy's first thought though.

"Nah. Better." Will promised, and Nico and Jason shared an elated look.

 _Yes_.

That meant Percy was getting a day off.

Awesome, he definitely needed it!

"Huh? Impossible." Percy huffed, not looking convinced in the slightest – though he shifted closer a moment later, looking intrigued.

"But what is it, then? Will, come on, no teasing, you know I'm a weak man with no self-control."

Will snorted out a small laugh while Nico and Jason shot Percy pointed looks, before they returned their focus on Will, who seemed to contemplate whether or not to tell them as he drank the last sip of orange juice and put the glass down ever so slowly.

Then, he noticed all three of them glowering at him expectantly and laughed – he even had the audacity to _wink_ at them.

"Alright, alright, fine, I'll tell you, stop murdering me with your looks alone, sweethearts." He exclaimed, clearly enjoying holding so much power over them, and Nico was almost moved to smile, if he wasn't also part of those that suffered.

For another long moment, the silence stretched on between them, which caused Percy to shift and Nico and Jason to make a face, daring Will to _not_ speak up right now.

But then, their boyfriend motioned for Percy to lean closer and Nico adored the way Percy's body pushed against his own in order to get closer to Will, certainly not minding this sort of proximity, no matter where they were or in what context.

He heard Will whisper something into Percy's ear, and could feel the way Percy's heartbeat picked up as he sucked in a small, startled breath.

" _Really_?" He asked in awe, so hopeful it made Nico's heart ache, and he caught Will nodding with a broad grin out of the corners of his eyes.

"YES!" Percy all but _yelled_ through dining pavilion as he lunged himself across Nico to pull Will into a hug, right before doing the same to Nico with an absolutely elated face and way too much force in his movements, though Nico would never mind hugs from his boyfriends, no matter how crushing they were.

Several heads turned towards them, but none of them bothered to explain as Percy whooped and threw his arms up and hugged Jason next, laughing loudly and giving him a loud kiss, before gasping and throwing himself at Nico and Will all over again, apparently realizing he hadn't kissed them and wanting to fix that.

Gods, he was so happy about this.

Nico's heart was still aching at seeing him so happy about something so small and stupid, but at the same time, Percy's happiness was contagious, so he had no chance to keep the smile off his face – and neither did Jason, for that matter, sharing a small look and a shrug with Nico before grinning at their boyfriend helplessly, who was now hogging Will to his chest and almost sobbing.

"That's the bestest surprise ever, sun-bug. How did you get Chiron to agree to that?! Did you sell your soul to him? I hope not, we need that soul, but still, _how_?!" Percy asked, and Nico faintly wondered where his boyfriend got such ideas from in the first place, though he was curious, as well.

Will patted Percy's head with a soft expression on his face, though he put on a cocky grin the moment Percy glanced up at him.

"Told you I'm awesome. As if anybody could resist my charm."

While _they_ couldn't resist Will, Nico certainly hoped Chiron wasn't as affected, or the Camp would have to make do with one centaur less.

Percy narrowed his eyes at Will, as if trying to figure out what brilliant tactic he had used just by staring at him alone.

Funnily enough, it was probably that stare that made Will sigh and _finally_ tell them.

"Okay, okay. I didn't charm him. It wasn't all that easy, either. I first hoped I'd be able to get us all off for today, but Chiron made it obvious how against that idea he was. So, sorry Jason, Nico, but you'll have to make do until noon. Jason, you apparently have some 'super important' meeting to attend, and Nico, Chiron expects you to at least teach half of your classes, the rest will be manageable by the Stoll's, Piper and Leo. You have the afternoon off, though." Will explained, and Nico's eyebrows shot up.

Wait, he had half a day off, too?

Just like that?

How? Why? Huh?

Jason looked similarly baffled, but Percy merely whooped all the louder, seeming absolutely euphoric.

"That's…thank you. You didn't have to go through that trouble, sole mio." Nico mumbled, still rather stunned, but kind of glad about it, anyways.

At least this way, they'd be able to enjoy more of the day with Percy.

They did have a few days where they had less busy schedules, or even free days, but those had greatly reduced as time passed, and by now they barely had any of those free days or breaks _together_ – which mostly made them pointless, in the first place, because none of them really wanted to spend their free time _alone_.

At least Nico didn't.

Will waved off, looking rather pleased with himself and his accomplishment.

"Of course I did, Nico-Neek-Neeks. What sort of boyfriend would I be otherwise?"

Still a perfectly amazing one, in Nico's opinion.

He'd even say 'amazingly perfect', if it wasn't for the fact Will _still_ kept calling him by that _horribly weird nickname_!

"Did he ask for anything in return? You won't have to work even more because of this though, right?" Jason asked quietly enough so Percy couldn't hear, but Percy was too busy celebrating his unplanned vacation still, anyways.

That…was a very good question.

Will hesitated for a moment before he replied, but then grinned and shook his head.

"Nah, all is well. I have most of the day off, myself."

Nico frowned and counted the days in his head, but he could have sworn today had originally _been_ Will's free day, but Will grinned at them as if this was great news, so he decided not to ask.

He'd simply have to check his little calendar later – the one he had made for the sole purpose of marking their free times and days and keep Will's schedule in check so their blonde didn't work himself into the grave, because experience showed that Will would seriously work in the infirmary every day and all day long if the guys and his siblings didn't make sure to pick him up/kick him out.

"This is so cool! It must have been _forever_ since we had _a whole day_ , guys! Well, half a day for you…but _still_ , isn't that amazing? We could catch up on all those movies that we wanted to watch! Oh, or we could check out the lake and see whether it's warm enough for swimming yet! We could take one of those sappy strolls around the lake like I see Annabeth and Piper doing all the time, that's probably fun, too! Guys, guys, we could play Mythomagic for hours! Listen to music! Dance! Party! TP the Big House!" Percy exclaimed, listing off all the possibilities he could apparently think of, and Nico's eyes widened.

Okay, somebody had to stop him before he did something stupid, like, _right now_.

Luckily, Will was still his knight in shining armor, wrapping his arm around Percy and tugging him back down to sit on the bench again, and while Percy turned towards him immediately to continue his rambling, he also instantly fell silent at the almost seductive look Will was giving him, his fingers running up Percy's arm ever so slowly as he leaned in close.

Not only Percy swallowed hard.

"What would you say to a nice, long massage instead, Percy? Just you and me, in the cabin, on the bed…" Will practically purred, but it was Nico who shivered in response first, even if Percy followed suite right after.

"That…that sounds like a great idea, too." Percy agreed, sounding rather breathless.

"Yeah? I thought so, too. I could finally make do of my promise of that full-body massage. Been wondering when I'd finally get a chance to give you guys those." Will said smugly, and Nico felt Jason shivering behind him this time, too.

Will's massages were heavenly.

Full-body massages…Nico wanted one, too. Badly.

"Wow, Percy, you sure are lucky. I know I'd do anything for one of those right about now." Jason sighed wistfully, and Nico nodded weakly, now half wishing Chiron could have been moved to give them a whole day off, as well.

"I know right? I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Just look at me, I got the three most amazing boyfriends ever, I'm getting a massage by the best masseuse in the world – who by the way is one of my most amazing boyfriends, might I mention – _and_ I have a whole day off. Damn, I'm so happy I'm alive right now." Percy boasted, though he had a dreamy, pleased look in his eyes that showed he was dead serious.

Nico couldn't help but smile as he shook his head to himself, and for the first time since Will had woken him up because of Percy's nightmare, he felt as if he could breathe freely again.

'I am so happy I'm alive right now.'

It was such a small thing to say and Nico doubted Percy even meant anything by it other than to express his joy, but Nico still remembered that look on Percy's face, the way his voice shook, the way he had closed his eyes seeming so heartbroken, so hurt, so lost, the way he had started mumbling about what he had seen, what he had felt – how it should have been him instead of them.

Nico never wanted to hear him say anything like that again.

He hadn't noticed it before now that it still bothered him so greatly to hear those words out of Percy's mouth, in that tone, with that expression.

Nico felt Will's fingers brushing over his hand, a touch that he'd have deemed accidental if it hadn't been for the way Will gazed at him, as if he knew exactly what Nico was thinking about and telling him it was okay.

It was okay _now_.

'I am so happy I'm alive right now.'

Nico had to trust that Percy truly believed his own words – and that he'd keep feeling that way.

But for now, Percy seemed more than happy to be and stay alive, looking like the manifestation of joy as he sat in their middle and beamed at them as if they were his world.

Nico wondered faintly whether Percy was aware he was their world, too.

He surely hoped so.

...

"You like this?" Will asked, though he already knew the answer, his hands moving slowly and steadily over his boyfriend's back.

Percy hummed in reply, a small, pleased smile on his lips as he turned his head sideways to look back at Will with one half-open eye.

Yes, he already looked a lot more relaxed than half an hour ago, Will was glad.

Even though Percy hadn't mentioned the nightmare since waking up again, Will knew it was still heavy on his mind, but he also knew Percy was doing his best to deal with it in his very own way.

Will still wished he could have prevented this somehow.

He had felt the pain and despair, but had mistaken it for something inside his own dream – which had been his vision of falling again, as if he didn't already know the time was coming closer and closer – so he hadn't reacted quickly enough, hadn't jolted awake soon enough to spare Percy all that.

He had only truly realized what was happening when he had felt that sense of hollow emptiness and depression flowing through him at the wrong moment, too soon to be his own dream.

So he had woken up to find Percy laying pressed against the wall, unmoving like a dead man, with a haunted and exhausted look on his face even though he had been asleep.

He hadn't even struggled or thrashed around, at least not when Will had been awake, just mumbled quiet apologies and words Will hadn't caught.

Of course, Will had immediately hoisted himself over Jason and Nico to get to him and wake him, but by then, most of the damage had already been done.

Poor Percy.

Will stroked down along his spine to make Percy arch his back a little, then teased along his sides to make him shiver and moan softly, even though Will wasn't going to take this anywhere – at least not right now.

They had time. Almost an entire day, in fact.

So, yeah, Will was going to make the most of it and give his boyfriend the best freaking massage he could ever dream of.

"Hey, sun-bug?"

Will hummed in reply as he reached for the massage oil once more, kind of upset he had only been able to find the vanilla one – there he had Percy at his leisure and didn't even have anything even _remotely_ interesting, it was a shame.

"This is gonna be a whole-body massage, right?" Percy asked thoughtfully and Will tried to rein his smirk in, instead getting his hands back on his boyfriend.

"Of course, Gorgeous." He replied, wondering where Percy was trying to go with this, since they had definitely already established this.

"So, is it going to be like the one you gave Nico in New Rome?"

Of course.

"Probably a bit more than that, Percy. I wasn't allowed to ravish Nico freely back then, so I barely did his legs and spared him the torture of a butt massage." Will replied amused, and Percy's eye gleamed up at him.

"And you're going to do that with me?" He asked, sounding curious and hopeful, which both made Will want to laugh and frown at the same time, though he settled on tapping Percy's cheek with one oiled finger, making him scrunch up his face slightly.

"I'll do anything you want me to do, Gorgeous. This is your massage, after all."

Percy seemed to ponder that for a moment, then he smiled again and closed his eyes, humming in contentment.

He was so adorable.

Will grinned to himself and continued down his back, taking his time the same way he had back when he had gotten to touch Nico like this.

It was still special, after all.

Back then, it had been like an amazing treat for him, the permission to touch Nico, to feel his bare skin under his fingertips, to turn him into goo beneath his fingers, to feel him relax and let go and just enjoy Will's touches.

He still remembered feeling so awed and grateful to Nico, Percy and the rest of the world.

It was the same now, but for different reasons.

Now, he was grateful to his boyfriends and the rest of the world, but not because they had given him permission to touch Percy this way, but because he got to have these wonderful dorks in his life.

Who'd have guessed back in January that he'd get to _date_ them?

That he'd get to call them _boyfriends_ one day?

That he'd get to casually put his hand on their thighs, that he'd get to lean over and kiss them, that he'd get to seduce them and be seduced by them?

Not just one of them, but _all three_ of them?

He certainly wouldn't have guessed.

He'd have never expected anything like this to be even remotely possible.

So, yes, he was very grateful – and he was more than awed that he got to touch Percy like this now, without qualms, without hesitation, his hands free to roam every inch of Percy's body, to explore, to map him out, to find each and every single good spot the same way he had done with Nico before – and Percy was completely relaxed, trusting him and enjoying his ministrations, no tension in his body and nothing between them.

Will had pictured this so many times, after all, had anticipated and dreaded giving Percy this massage from the moment he had offered it, but it had always been awkward in his imagination, a test of his self-control and his power to resist Percy and his way too alluring body, his way too alluring expressiveness, his way too alluring emotions.

He was endlessly glad he got to experience it this way with Percy, instead, with both of them on comfortable, even ground and already familiar with the temptation, even if it didn't make them immune.

Will could feel the telltale tug of lust in Percy, could feel him enjoying Will's touches more than his relaxed face wanted to make it seem – but Will was by far no better, adoring the way Percy looked beneath him and the way his skin felt beneath his fingertips way too much to not be affected.

But there was still no rush, no urgency, and no awkwardness as he moved his hands along Percy's lower back, drawing a small moan from him.

Will remembered that moment on the train, when he had given the guys those quick massages just to get his hands on them, smiling when he realized Percy had _always_ been this wonderfully expressive.

He was never going to get used to that – and never wanted to, either, because it was beautiful and he loved everything about it, including the little jolt and the happy thudding of his own heart in his chest each and every time he was reminded of this fact.

Will's grin widened as he applied a little more pressure to Percy's weak spot, relishing in the pleasure washing over Percy and the way he arched into the touch a little with a soft gasp.

"You know, I think you're almost as sensitive here as Nico is at that spot on his feet." He informed his boyfriend cheekily, but when Percy turned his head to look at him, it wasn't an exasperated or flustered look, but a curious, hopeful one.

"Really?"

Will blinked, surprised by _that_ reaction, though at the same time, he thought he could faintly remember Percy asking quite a few times whether he had such a sweet spot, too.

Oh. Maybe Will should have done something about that, huh?

"Yep. Guess we finally found your weak spot, hmm? You know, now that I know, I'll _have_ to tell Nico and Jason. It's in the IPOD-contract." He explained seriously, and Percy huffed, the tips of his ears turning scarlet.

"No, it's not. Plus, it's not like they'll really do anything about it. You're the only one who really knows how to work with pressure points and such, after all." His boyfriend retorted, and Will was pretty sure he sounded a tiny bit bitter about that.

"I can show you, if you want. Also, they would do anything for you as long as you let them know you're interested. Nico is curious, too, but I'm waiting for him to make up his mind whether he really wants to give it a try. He's still pretty embarrassed about that, apparently, even though I told him everyone got at least one super sensitive spot on their bodies." He shrugged, pushing his thumbs into Percy's skin again and making him shiver and gasp.

"Like Jason and his neck?" Percy asked and Will nodded with an undoubtedly dirty grin.

"You know, if you know what you're doing you could be turning the whole thing around and have him completely at your mercy, anytime you want. He _loves_ it, Percy."

Percy looked back at him with a matching grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh really? Like how much you love it when we tease your ears?"

Will tried to battle away the heat rising in his face, but it was for naught.

"In fact, yes. But he tries to play it cool. Not to mention, since we like to tease his neck a lot, you should always aim for some build-up. Tease the side of his neck first, then the front, right under his Adam's apple, and he'll be all yours, Percy."

He vaguely wondered whether Jason would appreciate him selling him out like this to Percy, but then he realized Jason was the one who had to do the most for his pleasure, so he was pretty sure if Jason didn't appreciate it now, he certainly would once Percy made use of his newfound knowledge.

Percy hummed thoughtfully, then turned away again with a smug smirk, so Will knew he'd definitely make use of that the next time Jason ravished him.

Maybe he should warn the blonde…or maybe not.

Will continued down Percy's back to his butt, then moved back upwards again, reminding himself this was a serious massage and to take things slow.

Percy didn't seem to mind, instead humming and spreading out beneath him in contentment some more.

"Hey Will?" He asked when Will started moving down his left arm, and he hummed in reply.

"Can we talk about something? Like, in general?" His boyfriend asked sheepishly, and Will paused for a moment, studying his face.

True, the silence was probably getting a bit too loud; it wasn't surprising Percy wouldn't like to be left alone with his thoughts right now.

"Sure. Do you want to do the talking or rather listen?" He asked as he switched arms, and Percy shrugged.

So Will started talking, telling him about how he had learned of pressure points and studied them until he had been able to memorize all the points on a body and marked them on a dummy in various colors, depending on what he had been studying at the time – and he had studied _a lot_ , from the acupressure and acupuncture point of view to the flow of Qi and the meridians, to all the various self-defense techniques.

Percy listened, occasionally asking a question or two or trying to figure out _when_ Will had learned all that, but since that had been something Will had forced himself to learn to get out of his head and away from everybody else as it had been right after the war and _Kyle_ , he decided to gently dodge that topic, and Percy didn't pry.

"You're pretty amazing. So, are you like a ninja now? Able to take somebody out or immobilize them just by finding such points?" Percy asked curiously while Will made him sit up and started massaging his head and face.

Will shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I never tried it on a living person, just on dummies, so I wouldn't know how much pressure to apply and what would be too few or too much. Plus, I think most of that is just stuff they do for movies, Perce." He notified his boyfriend, though he still gazed at him with that look of awe that got right under Will's skin and made his heart beat faster in giddiness and pride.

"Still amazing. You could totally practice on me if you want. Well, maybe not necessarily anything that's meant to kill me, though I trust you."

Will shook his head and made him close his eyes so he could gently massage the area around them, and he felt Percy letting out a soft sigh, more than apparently enjoying the touch.

"I'll think about it. I mostly just learned it to have something to do – and because I figured it might be useful to know more ways to heal with than just ambrosia, creams, stitches and the occasional surgery."

His boyfriend huffed out a small laugh and squinted at him with one eye, though Will promptly tapped his nose to make him stop that.

"Yeah, because that's so not amazing by itself already. Seriously, is there anything you _can't_ do? You can heal, you can patch people up in all sorts of ways, you're an undercover ninja, you can dance, you can sing…"

Will decided not to point out he was far from an 'undercover ninja', instead massaging along Percy's ears to his jaw.

"I can't fight." He said quietly, but Percy merely huffed.

"You just told me you can do a certain extent of material arts!"

"Yes, which will be very useful against a giant drakon ten times my size." Will agreed with a small smirk, and Percy tried to squint at him again, but Will kissed his eyelids shut, then moved to massage his neck and chest.

"You have _me_ for that, though. I can't do any of your things, but watch me take down that drakon for you."

Will shook his head with a sigh.

"You probably shouldn't jinx it, Percy."

Percy merely huffed again.

"I'll fight anything for you, Will. You know that."

He did.

It was a knowledge that both flattered him and filled him with unease.

"Enjoy your massage, you dork. I'm massaging your chest and you're not even writhing beneath me, how unfair." He retorted, and his boyfriend promptly let himself fall backwards in the sheets once more to lay himself out in front of him.

Had he mentioned he loved how unabashed Percy was about things like this?

"This better?" Percy asked cheekily as he moved his arms up and angled his body to move into Will's touch, his smirk telling him he knew full well Will would like that.

"You're impossible."

"Tell me something I don't already know." Percy retorted and even had the audacity to wink at him.

Will huffed, then leaned down to press their lips together – the first real kiss they shared since he had started his massage, and by the gods did Will want more.

But he was far from done yet, so that would have to wait.

At least he thought that, but Percy pulled him back in for another kiss as he tried to let go of him.

So they shared a few more, his body flat on Percy's, the simple and almost innocent touch feeling oddly intimate and pleasant.

"Ready to let me continue the massage now?" He asked against Percy's lips when his boyfriend finally let go of the back of his neck, and Percy grinned even before his eyes opened.

"If you must."

Will huffed against his lips and pulled back, trying to figure out where exactly he had stopped at.

"I had the impression you enjoyed my massage?" He pointed out, though he knew for a fact Percy did like his ministrations.

He just wanted him to say it out loud, really.

"Of course I do. I wasn't lying when I said you're the best masseuse in the world." Percy replied immediately, and even though Will knew he was hopelessly exaggerating, he still felt himself shiver in response.

Silence settled over them again except for Percy's occasional gasp or sigh, and Will moved down his legs next, more than a little pleased that Percy let him put his hands wherever he wanted without tensing up or getting nervous.

"Hey, sun-bug?" Percy asked out of the blue again, and Will inwardly sighed, wondering why Percy didn't ever just come out and say/ask/do whatever he wanted.

"Yes, Percy?"

"Did anybody ever give _you_ a whole-body massage?" Percy asked curiously, and Will stopped, blinking up at him.

"No?" He replied, pretty sure Percy already knew that, since there wasn't really anybody at Camp who _could_ have given Will one, at least not without mortifying the both of them.

"Really? Well, you're certainly missing out, then. Can I give you one?"

Oh, so that was what he had been after.

Will shot him a pointed look, then nudged his legs apart to knead his inner thigh as well as the back of it.

Percy let him manhandle him without complaint, looking up at him expectantly and with that wide, hopeful grin that made it near impossible for Will to resist.

"If you want to. But you know this is meant to be _your_ day, right? We want to make _you_ feel good, so you should just lay back and enjoy it." He pointed out dryly, but his boyfriend was busy whooping and throwing his arms up exaggeratedly and unnecessarily.

Will couldn't help but smile at the sight, anyways.

He switched legs and massaged down to Percy's feet and back up, then took his sweet time with his feet, grinning when Percy still seemed so elated about getting to massage Will later.

"I am so happy we showered before this." Percy mused, and Will wondered whether that was because he currently had Percy's foot inches from his face, or whether this was supposed to be some sort of fundamental warning for what was to come when Percy got to do him.

"With all this massage oil, I wouldn't be able to smell your stinky feet, anyways." He deadpanned and Percy made a face, though he didn't even pretend to kick Will, instead wiggling his toes at him – which was much worse, because it made Will snort out a laugh.

"I'll have you know my feet feel very offended that you'd say they are capable of stinking. They always smell lovely. Like…uh…roses."

Percy was such a dork.

Will tried very hard not to crack up, instead giving his boyfriend a serious nod.

"Well, I'm deeply sorry for offending your feet, then. May I be forgiven?" He asked sweetly – then leaned forward to press his lips to the sole of Percy's foot, making him jump with a small squeal.

"Did you just _kiss my foot_?!"

Will snorted, snatching his other foot as well to give it a matching kiss and making Percy blush to the roots of his hair.

"Yeah? They're washed, they're clean, they smell and taste like the vanilla massage oil, and I wouldn't want your feet to hold a grudge against me, would I now?" He deadpanned, and Percy let out a small, disbelieving laugh, before he let his legs fall apart and motioned for Will to come closer with a soft 'It appears you are forgiven'.

Will was there in a heartbeat, most definitely unable to resist _that_.

Needless to say, Percy's resolve with the whole-body massage didn't last very long before he got distracted, but Will surely wasn't complaining as he gasped and clawed the sheets, Percy's lips mouthing at his clothed groin, his hands around Will's thighs and clutching his backside.

This was not how the day had been supposed to go.

Will was supposed to be the one in control, the one making Percy feel good and maybe even get him to sleep some more before Will would have to work in the infirmary and let Nico and Jason take care of Percy for the rest of the day.

"I like how loud you get when I do something you really like but weren't expecting." Percy remarked cheekily when Will let out a soft moan as he teased his lower stomach, and Will tried to glare down into his general direction.

"Aww, don't look like that, you know you love it. No, but seriously, I love your sounds. Always makes me feel as if I've done something exceptionally right." Percy explained, and Will closed his eyes again with a gasp as his boyfriend dipped his head back down to tease his hip bone.

Will would brush off his statements as attempts to make Will feel less anxious about his noises, but by now he knew better, knew that Percy genuinely meant that.

"Thank you." Will rasped out, unable to help it, and Percy looked up at him in question for a moment.

Then, Will could feel the curiosity coursing through his boyfriend and he found him moving up his body again to his lips, giving him a long, languid kiss as his fingers played with the waistband of his boxer shorts.

"How does it feel? I mean, does it feel better when you're loud?" He asked, making Will frown slightly as he tried to figure out what exactly Percy was trying to ask.

"It feels liberating, if you mean that. I don't like having to be quiet, it puts too much strain on me and feels more uncomfortable than anything else, not to mention it distracts from the pleasure. I didn't choose to be a screamer, you know." He replied hesitantly, but Percy shook his head hastily.

"I know, I know. I didn't mean it in an accusing sort of way. As I said, I love your noises. And I haven't actually heard you 'screaming' yet, because you always try to muffle your sounds. Which you _just_ said you don't like doing, by the way." Percy retorted with a pointed look.

Will looked away innocently, though he pulled Percy back closer when his boyfriend made to move away.

It was different.

With the guys, he knew it was okay to let go and enjoy himself and make noises in general.

Of course he could always be _louder_ , but it wasn't necessary, it already felt good enough the way it was now.

Though he didn't expect them to understand – after all, they didn't know how it felt to be forbidden from making _any_ noise and to be punished if he dared to let even a too loud gasp slip.

The thought made him shudder, and Percy suddenly stilled, as if sensing where his mind was going.

Will gave him a peck on the lips and wiggled his eyebrows up at him.

"So, what, you want to hear me scream? _Kinky_."

It was meant to be something to show Percy he was fine, but to Will's surprise, Percy's face promptly turned scarlet.

"Oh?" His mouth supplied before he could stop himself, and Percy's blush darkened, his eyes suddenly everywhere but on Will.

"Shush. I just…you sounded so _nice_ when you and Nico…ah…I mean…well, I do admit I'm curious, but I…I wasn't sure what you'd think…"

Aww, Percy was stammering.

Will tried to control the wild beating of his own heart as he cupped his boyfriend's face, their gazes meeting.

"Make me scream all you want, Gorgeous."

It wasn't quite what he had wanted to say, and his voice was a lot more purr than originally intended, but that was nothing compared to the strangled sound Percy made in reply, his skin scarlet.

"You…you…you can't just _say that_ , Will! Oh gods, don't look at me with that face. Turn around. Shoo with you. Impossible human being. I swear, I just almost… _Will_!" His boyfriend complained loudly, his voice a tad higher than usual, and Will couldn't help but cackle as he obediently moved to turn around beneath Percy.

"What the…Will, I didn't mean _literally_! Oh-…" Percy exclaimed when he realized what Will was doing, but then stopped abruptly when Will 'accidentally' pushed his butt up against Percy's groin ever so faintly.

" _Oh_ …okay, stay like that. _Please_ stay like that. Is…is that okay? Can I…?" Percy asked, suddenly sounding rather dazed again, and Will watched him with ill-concealed humor as he rubbed back against him playfully.

It was simply too tempting to see Percy's eyes glaze over and his expression turn so wonderfully far gone in a matter of seconds, Will had no thoughts or energy to spare on how this was something he usually was far from okay with.

Instead, he enjoyed Percy's expressiveness and let him grab him by the hips, pulling him further upwards so they were in a sort of doggy position.

It reminded Will _a lot_ of December, when Percy had imitated his 'favorite' sex position with Nico.

"Can I hump you?" Percy asked and Will scowled by default.

"Those are four words I never want to hear out of your mouth. We've talked about that. I told you a hundred times not to say the h-word ever again in my presence, you-…" He started ranting, but then Percy leaned over him, their bodies touching and his breath against his ear.

"Just say yes or no, sun-bug."

Cruel being, just brushing him off like that.

"Yes, duh. Else I wouldn't be- _ah_ …" Will tried to snap back, but then broke off with a gasp as Percy thrust his hips forward.

"Are you okay with having your back to me? Do you want to turn around?" Percy asked, his voice husky and wonderful, but Will shook his head, instead pushing back against him a bit more.

"For this, it's okay."

It was.

He probably wouldn't be able to have sex like this due to too many bad memories, but nobody had ever bothered pleasing him by humping alone, so this was okay – especially with Percy's hands on his bare hips and his hot breath against his back.

"Want me to touch you?" Percy asked, but Will was too busy fighting the urge to rock his hips back, begging for more friction, for a better angle, for less clothing…

"I'm good."

"Update me on the colors." Percy gasped, making Will fight the urge to roll his eyes, though he honestly liked the safeword-thing they had started.

"Green."

Percy moaned and used one hand to adjust where his dick was going, while the other one seemed glued to Will's hip, occasionally pulling him back against him and making him gasp every single time.

"Can I?" Percy asked, though Will wasn't immediately sure of what he meant until he felt both of Percy's hands on Will's boxer shorts.

He nodded into the pillow, biting his lip as he fought the wave of self-consciousness due to their current position and the way he was so exposed to Percy right now.

Percy met his gaze as he turned his head slightly to keep his eyes on him, to reassure himself this was Percy and nobody else, just in case.

He wasn't sure whether Percy knew or sensed his apprehension, but his gaze never left Will's face as he tugged his underwear down and off Will's legs with his help – in fact, it didn't leave his face even as he started humping him again, their eye contact only breaking off when Will let his eyes fall shut with a soft moan.

"Color?"

"I'll tell you if it changes." Will breathed, then moaned again, rocking his hips back automatically when the tip of Percy's dick rubbed against his entrance, last layer of fabric be damned.

He half expected Percy to laugh at that – not even necessarily to tease or make fun of him – but instead, Percy let out a matching moan, his hand back to squeezing Will's hip, before he leaned back over Will and started placing kisses on his burning skin.

"I love you, Will."

Will smiled to himself, but was about to complain about the lack of humping when he felt Percy's _hand_ at his backside instead, making him momentarily stiffen.

"Color?"

He had _just_ told him he'd tell him if it changed.

Will wanted to reply just that, but felt himself unable to as he gasped and went rigid, Percy's fingers foreign and unfamiliar, even though he wasn't pushing or prodding anywhere, just stroking.

Percy was still kissing down along his back, something that helped Will's wildly beating heart, but only so much.

"Color?" Percy asked again, this time stopping in his movement.

"Yellow." Will breathed, trying to remain calm.

Percy gave a small nod and kissed his lower back, his hand moving back to cup Will's butt cheek, giving him a little squeeze that somehow managed to help ease the tension inside Will a bit.

He let out a relieved breath, then squirmed and giggled when he felt Percy's lips against the other butt cheek.

"Did you just kiss my butt?" He asked incredulously, though he already knew the answer.

When he turned his head further to look back at Percy better, he found his boyfriend giving him a cheeky smile.

"Yeah? Got a problem with that?"

Not at all.

"Do what you want." Will huffed and turned his face into the pillow a tiny bit more to hide his blush, even if he knew Percy wouldn't tease him about it right now.

There was silence behind him for a moment, then Percy leaned down to kiss his lower back again, his hands now both at Will's butt, though the touch was gentle rather than pushy.

"Will?" Percy asked quietly, and Will could feel the anticipation and apprehension bubbling up inside Percy, piquing his interest.

"Hmm?" He hummed back when the kneading of Percy's hands made him uncertain his voice would work correctly, but Percy hesitated a moment longer before replying.

"Can I try something?"

That…sounded pretty vague.

Will turned to look back at him with a small frown, but Percy just sat there with a beet-red face and an earnest expression on his face – which didn't give him any clue as to what his boyfriend had in mind, but showed he was serious and rather hopeful.

"Okay." Will replied with his heart in his throat, but he trusted Percy.

He wouldn't hurt him, Will knew that.

Percy sucked in a deep breath, seeming equally relieved and stunned that Will had given his okay – which didn't help Will's nerves one bit, but he merely turned his face back into the pillow and closed his eyes.

Percy's hands kept stroking over his cheeks and kneading them, apparently intent on getting Will to relax, so Will did his best to help, only to jolt a little when he felt Percy's lips against his lower back again.

"Spread your legs a little further?" He said it more like a question than an order, but Will didn't mind one bit, instead shifting to accommodate Percy's wishes.

"What are you going to do?" Will asked hesitantly, unable to help it, but Percy didn't immediately reply, his hands stroking and squeezing his butt insistently as he moved between Will's legs further.

"I…Will, has anybody ever…erm…" His boyfriend started, but then stopped again, and Will could feel the fluster spreading inside Percy, even though that only confused him even more.

If anybody knew of the things Will had done in the past, it was Percy, thanks to Will's lack of a filter in crucial moments.

He was about to say as much, when he felt Percy leaning closer with another deep breath, his lips pressing against Will's…

What.

 _What_.

"Percy…" He gasped, half in warning, half in stunned shock, though Percy didn't give him the chance to make up his mind what he wanted to say next, because the next moment, there was Percy's _tongue_ , and Will was _dying_.

A jolt went through him as his hands clawed the sheets beneath him, a loud and unmasked gasp escaping his lips as he felt Percy's hands spreading him, felt his hot and wet tongue against his skin, _there_ , and he couldn't think, too stunned by the onslaught of new sensations.

Percy licked again, seeming tentative, hesitant, but Will was unable to do anything but let out a shaky moan, his entire body trembling like leaves.

It was only when Percy pulled back that Will let out a weak breath and a surge of panic smacked him in the face, making him dread he had done something wrong or that something was wrong or maybe something else had happened…

"That. Is that…is that okay?" Percy asked sheepishly, his breath hot and wet against his skin before he moved back closer to let Will feel an even hotter and wetter tongue.

Why was he asking, when he did it again anyways?

Will nodded weakly as he gasped again, his hand tapping the bed repeatedly in a bad impression of Thumper as he writhed and groaned loudly, unable to process _what was happening_.

Percy pulled away again, leaving Will feeling unnaturally cold and causing the panic to be right back, this time more refined.

"Color?"

"D-D-Doesn't…I-I-I…y-y-y-you…" He tried and broke off the moment he realized his voice didn't work, and Percy moved one hand to stroke over his, allowing him to snatch it immediately and clasp it in his own as if his life depended on it.

Affection. Arousal. Awe. Curiosity. Lust. Love. Need.

Will let out a long, relieved breath, his body relaxing again almost immediately.

No ounce of hesitation or reluctance, nothing that indicated Percy wasn't liking it, nothing that said Will had done something wrong.

Everything was fine.

"Color?" He asked, startling both Percy and himself, but then Percy breathed out a small laugh and gave his butt cheek a kiss.

"Green, love. Sorry if I freaked you out. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it if I tried to put it into words first. Is it okay? Does it feel okay?"

'Is it okay', he asked. Was he for real?

Will should be the one asking that.

He gave another nod and swallowed, trying to sort out his thoughts as he let go of Percy's hand and allowed it to return to its task of soothingly rubbing Will's backside.

"I've never done this before, so bear with me. Only read about it once after you mentioned it, but…yeah."

Yeah. Will had never done this, either, nor expected to ever have it done to him.

"I mentioned it?" He asked dazedly as Percy started placing timid pecks on his cheeks.

"Yeah. You listed a whole bunch of things when I asked you what I should do in case Nico gets bored of my blowjobs, back in January. I didn't know most of the terms, so I googled them on Nico's laptop as best as I could. Rimming was one of the only terms I spelled right."

Percy was an idiot.

Will had been joking about that, since there was no way anybody would get bored of Percy's blowjobs – and yes, Will had already been certain of that back in January, because of how in love those two were and how invested Percy had been to assure Nico would be pleased properly in his care.

"You're impossible." He whispered weakly, then arched his back and pushed back into Percy when he felt one finger teasing his entrance.

Somehow, now, he couldn't picture why this had freaked him out mere minutes ago.

It felt amazing.

"Yeah? So I can continue? I have no idea what I'm doing, but it feels funny."

Funny, huh?

Other people would be disgusted of getting their face anywhere close to a butt, and his boyfriend said it felt funny.

He loved this guy.

"Use the massage oil if you want, it double functions as lube and will probably help with stuff like taste and…well…if you…if you want to…your hands…uh…" Will trailed off awkwardly, his composure slipping the moment he realized he was practically inviting Percy to do all this.

When had that happened?

Hadn't Will had all these great plans of seducing Percy and making him feel good?

Now he was the one being seduced, though Percy felt rather happy and content with where he was, so Will guessed he had no reason to complain.

In reply, Percy spread his cheeks again and the next moment, Will was gasping once more, unable to comprehend why it felt so _good_.

Percy spread his legs a bit more and Will complied, biting his lip so hard he knew he'd draw blood sooner or later as he felt Percy's tongue exploring, first just leaving kitten licks before applying more and more pressure, trying to figure out what Will liked and didn't like.

As it turned out, Will liked everything, his entire body vibrating with need as soft cries escaped his lips over and over again, unable to help it and unable to stop himself from rocking his hips back against Percy.

Percy didn't seem to mind, even humming in encouragement as he lapped away at Will as if he had never done anything but.

He occasionally pulled back to draw breath or ask Will for an update on the color, but by now, Will was unable to provide much more than a needy whine in response to show how badly he needed him back there.

Percy luckily didn't tease him, instead hurrying back to pleasing him.

"Can I try push in a little?" Percy asked when he came up for air again, and Will let out a feeble string of selective swearwords to show how much he appreciated the interruption right now.

"Could you _not_ ask such things and just _do_ them?" He shot back, probably sounding a lot harsher than intended, but Percy didn't seem upset in the slightest, instead giving his backside an affectionate bite that made Will jump and curse again.

A moment later, he jumped for an entirely different reason and let out a gasped cry of pleasure that left him even more rattled than Percy's doings behind him.

"I take it you like that." His boyfriend noted cheekily, and Will thrust his hips back into his face.

"Keep your sass for when you're done eating me out, smartass."

"Bossy." Percy remarked amused, but then finally had mercy and continued, driving Will crazy as he writhed and moaned and cried out.

"You sure like this." Percy noted when Will uttered an exceptionally sharp cry, knowing he was getting close, but entirely unwilling to touch his leaking dick or do anything else that would get him closer to relief.

He wanted to get the most out of this, so there was no way he wanted it to stop anytime soon.

"No, I generally cry out in bliss. My favorite pastime." He retorted dryly, because, seriously, he did more than just _like_ this, and Percy should already be well aware of that.

"You're so full of shit. Let me boast a little, will you?" Percy remarked with an indignant huff against Will's skin, but Will could only snort out a weak laugh at the first part of Percy's statement.

"For your sake and mine, I sure hope I'm not." He replied, and Percy halted for a moment, before a small chuckle escaped his lips as well.

"You're…that was a bad one, Will. Seriously, even for your standards."

Will wanted to sass back, but then Percy's tongue pushed in lightly again and his reply was drowned out in a soft, desperate cry for more.

He clutched the bed sheets as his hips pushed back against Percy, who had nothing better to do than to decide that was the perfect moment to uncap the massage oil/lube and move a finger to join his tongue.

" _Fuck_!" Will exclaimed, his voice loud and as desperate as he felt, and when Percy asked for a color, Will yelled back 'Blue'.

Percy's finger was slow and careful, showing he knew what he was doing and all Will could do was chant 'Fuck' in varying degrees of intensity and awe and despair.

Then, that cheeky ass asked him for a color update and 'Fuck' changed to 'Fuck you', just to change to a whimpered 'Fuck me' right after as Percy's tongue teased him again.

When Percy didn't react to that, he repeated it, louder and more insistently, daring Percy to take him up on it, daring him to ask him, trying to get him to ask, pleading with him to have mercy with him and just _do him_.

Will wasn't sure what he said out loud and what he just thought as it was all a jumbled mess, but Percy moaned behind him and pushed against him more insistently, with his free hand moving between Will's legs and to his leaking dick, which meant Will had done _something_ right, but Percy was completely _not_ getting his point of needing him inside him right now.

However, he never got to voice that out as he was suddenly confronted with Percy's hand stroking his dick with a touch that spoke of knowing just what Will liked and how he liked it – and then, before he knew it, before he ever got any warning out, before the thought of permission ever even crossed his mind, Will came.

His cry was loud and raw, carrying the desperate need and the elated euphoria with it that Will still felt as his orgasm shook through him and made it near impossible to remain upright.

The next moment, he slumped, and Percy's hold on him loosened, allowing him to slide sideways and hit the blanket, panting hard and with his heart beating so loud he wasn't even sure whether it was still in his rib cage or whether it had moved to some other place.

Percy moved to wrap his arms around him, laying down with him and giving him an innocent kiss to the shoulder and the top of his head, before holding him quietly until his breathing was a bit calmer and his vision clearer.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked softly and Will wanted to turn around and shake him by the shoulders for such a stupid question, though he also wanted to kiss him for everything he had just done.

At that thought, he scrunched up his nose.

"I'm not kissing you." He rasped determinedly, pretty sure he was never going to kiss Percy again after _that_.

Percy stilled for a moment, surprise and indignity rushing through him before he let out a small laugh and kissed the top of Will's head again, making him let out an exaggerated 'Eww!'.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Wouldn't have expected you to. No worries, I'll brush my teeth and all. Now, are you okay?"

Will huffed in reply, but then decided to ponder the question for real.

 _Was_ he okay?

"More than okay. Though I kind of hoped you'd…you know…" He admitted sheepishly, suddenly feeling a lot less bold than when he had been moments away from his climax.

Percy hummed softly.

"I know. You made it pretty clear."

Oh wow.

If Will wasn't still coming down from his high, he'd probably blush at that.

As it was, he merely huffed indignantly and turned to look back at his boyfriend.

"Then why didn't you?"

Percy chuckled, giving his nose a tap with his pinkie.

"Oh? Am I imagining things or does my boyfriend want me to have sex with him?"

Alright, Will was back to wanting to strangle him.

Unfortunately, his mouth worked faster than his brain.

"Well, _duh_. I don't usually beg for things if I don't actually want them."

Percy halted for a moment, but then his grin was back, and his face dangerously close, making Will dread he _was_ going to kiss him.

If so, he was going to very gently shove Percy off the bed, rinse out his mouth with soap and never leave the bathroom again.

Luckily, Percy spared him that fate.

"You know, we can always go for another round if you like…"

For a long moment, Will couldn't do anything but stare at him with wide eyes and his mouth opening and closing uselessly with no sounds coming out, while Percy studied his expression with a curious and amused one of his own.

Then, Will cleared his throat and rolled onto his back, his legs parting automatically.

"Okay. But be gentle, use lube, and don't you dare kiss me, no matter how much I might ask for it."

Percy's stunned expression almost made him laugh, though the hungry and predatory look that followed lured a small moan of anticipation out of him instead.

His boyfriend rolled over and on top of him, hands to the left and right of him as he smirked down at him with _that_ smile that promised only the best.

Will decided to be bold, moving his arms up and letting his legs fall apart further in clear invitation and a similar fashion to how Percy liked to tease and tempt him, and he was promptly rewarded with Percy letting out a small, needy moan and his hands touching him almost feverishly while his head dipped down to bury his face at Will's shoulder.

Yes, this had definitely been a good decision.

...

Will found out that day that Percy liked to hold hands during sex, that he knew exactly how to use his fingers, that he was an exceptionally gentle lover with Will, that he liked to have _a lot_ of body contact, and that he could keep his promise of 'I won't kiss you even if you beg for it', which was the only reason Will finally allowed him to give him the simplest and most innocent peck in the world – after forcing him to brush his teeth four times, use half the bottle of mouthwash _and_ take a twenty minute long, _hot_ shower with his face in the spray of the water and no powers holding it back.

Percy hadn't even complained once, instead doing as he had told him with that soft smile on his face and only a small sigh to spare when he had to endure the shower, just to give him that very proud and elated peck on the lips that didn't even last longer than a second, but seemed more than enough to satisfy Percy (even if it had still made Will cringe inwardly).

So, needless to say, while Percy seemed absolutely content with the world and pleased with the outcome of their time together as they lounged on a freshly made bed enjoying each other's presence and with their hands stroking through each other's hair with a movie running that neither of them were watching, Will was in seventh heaven.

This had been _the best_ decision.

"Bestest." Percy corrected, and Will hummed in agreement, even though he hadn't known he had said that out loud, nor _what_ he had said out loud.

Fine, the _bestest_.

...

"So, I'd say your free day was a real success, huh?" Jason mused as he watched Percy practically hopping down the front steps of their cabin and grinning as if he had won the lottery, same as he had the past hours.

Damn, he'd have to thank Will later once more for being awesome, because he had never seen Percy quite like this, at least not for longer than ten minutes.

" _Yes_." Percy exclaimed with a look of pure joy, his steps bouncy and full of energy Jason had no idea where he got it from.

After all, he had come back to find Percy and Will wrapped up in each other with Nico's laptop at their feet, music playing _and_ a movie running…all while playing a very abstract card game that had mostly consisted of either of them calling out a random card and the two giggling and giving each other pecks on the nose or cheek, visibly too exhausted for much else.

One would expect that exhaustion to mean Percy wouldn't want to do much else today, but gods had Jason been wrong.

The moment Will had dragged himself out of bed with a last mumbled 'I love you' to Percy and an exhausted 'Take good care of him. Love you and see you later, babes' towards him and Nico, Percy had rolled over in bed and patted the space next to him with a dirty grin, just to brag for half an hour about how he had successfully seduced Will after receiving the world's best massage ever.

Jason so wanted one of those massages too, by the way.

Though they'd have to wait, by the looks of it, since he was pretty sure Will didn't have quite as much energy left as Percy did, not after everything those two had apparently been up to, and most definitely not after working in the infirmary after that.

"Are you sure we aren't a bit too early?" He asked, knowing full well that they were, because Will had told them he'd only get out an hour from now.

Unexpectedly, his boyfriend nodded with a wide grin.

"Oh, we totally are. But we're not going to the infirmary yet. Nope. You and I, we're going on one of those cheesy walks around the lake." Percy announced happily.

Jason blinked, slightly taken aback at those news as Percy turned to shoot him a brilliant smile and grabbed hold of his hand, tugging him along with him and leading him towards the lake, rather than the infirmary.

"That…sounds great. You sure are in a splendid mood." He said at a loss for anything better to say, but Percy didn't seem to mind, humming contently and holding his hand a little tighter.

"Yeah. Just wish Nico could have come as well."

Jason agreed.

Nico would have totally been up for a romantic stroll around the lake, especially with Percy in such a wonderful mood.

Unfortunately, Annabeth had come and snatched their favorite Italian away an hour ago, though.

They still were none the wiser as to _why_ , but Annabeth had been rather adamant about it, so she must have had her reasons.

"Maybe we'll meet him on the way." Jason mused and Percy hummed again.

"Maybe." He agreed, and they walked on side by side, Percy's hand feeling warm and welcome in his own.

It was still a surprise though, that Percy would pretty much take him on this sort of…mini-date?

Could it be called that?

Was there a special reason for it? Maybe Percy needed to talk about something?

Jason gazed at him from the side, waiting for him to speak as he took in that adorable grin on his face and the way the sunlight seemed to make his eyes gleam even more.

But Percy didn't say anything, merely walking on and holding his hand and turning to look right back at him with a questioning and amused look on his face that finally made Jason cave in.

"So, a walk around the lake, huh?" He asked to break the silence, and Percy beamed at him.

"Yep. I saw Annabeth and Piper doing that and decided it's most definitely something you'd like. I mean, you look so wistful whenever Nico rambles about his date with Will – which I'm _still_ jealous of, by the way, because nobody is taking _me_ on a date here, and how mean is that? – but yeah, I figured it was a nice idea." Percy explained, sounding indignant for a moment, though his smile was back a moment later as he tugged Jason along with determination.

So…wait, Percy was taking him for a walk around the lake because he thought Jason might like it?

That…actually, that was surprisingly sweet.

"I'll take you on a date sometime soon, then. Oh, and Percy?"

Percy automatically turned his head towards him when he tugged on his hand, so it was easy for Jason to lean in from the side and give him a peck on his forehead.

"Thanks for this. I think it's a _very_ nice idea." He said softly and watched Percy's ears redden slightly, though he didn't look all that flustered.

"So you like it?"

"Yeah. Very romantic." Jason replied, looking at the glistening water and the rather calming silence around them, since most kids were in the dining pavilion or collecting at the Camp Fire already.

"Thought so. I knew it was sappy enough to be to your liking. Piper and Annabeth always do the sappiest stuff. And then they call _me_ the cheesy one." Percy acted so offended, too.

Jason smiled at him and gave his hand a little squeeze.

"Percy, you're the one who made an Advent Calendar for Nico to woo him, just to then proceed to woo Will and me as well. I'm pretty sure you _are_ the cheesy one." He pointed out and found Percy making a face at him, before sticking his tongue out.

"Lies. You simply can't resist my charm. And I've told you a hundred times that Nico's Advent Calendar was a one-time thing. I broke my head thinking it all through a million times, there's no way I can do that again, like, _ever_. Not to mention it would be for the _three_ of you! Impossible. What would I even get _you_? You're the least material person I know, next to Will. I'd be screwed! Plus, I had help from Leo and Annabeth, so there. They're the cheesy ones." Percy argued, then made a small surprised sound and looked at a bunch of flowers with great interest, though Jason decided not to question it.

Instead, he wondered why Percy was thinking about Advent Calendars when it was _nowhere_ near Christmas – not to mention why he thought they'd expect him to do a repeat of last year for _them_.

What a dork.

"Whatever you say, Perce. For the record though, I'd always be happy about an Advent Calendar full of kisses. How about that? You just let me wake up next to you each morning and give me a good-morning kiss. For every day of December until Christmas. Sounds good?" He suggested, because, hey, if they were already on the topic, he might as well mention a possible solution just because he could.

Percy chuckled as he squatted down near the flowers to inspect them up close.

"That's horrible, Sparky. I'd do that any day and every day if you want me to. Not just for the Christmas season."

Yeah? Then why didn't he?

Jason totally wouldn't mind.

He watched Percy with a small smile on his face, wondering how a guy like Percy could possibly take a liking to somebody like Jason.

He was so vibrant, so full of life and joy and the urge to show and share it with others.

Jason was much more reserved and had too many things on his mind to let himself go quite like that, especially when he had so many responsibilities to take care of and his boyfriends to worry about – he had to make sure they were okay, after all.

(Yes, he was a mother hen and he knew it.)

"You aren't really worried about an Advent Calendar for us though, right? Because we _really_ aren't expecting anything like that. I'm pretty sure nobody is even thinking about Christmas at the moment, either." He put in quickly when it occurred to him that Percy must have actually given this some thought already.

Percy turned to shoot him a pointed look.

"No worries, I know. We still got time until then, plenty of time. Your birthday comes first. _So_ not looking forward to that, by the way. You're such a difficult person!"

Thanks, Percy.

"Yeah, I love you, too." Jason remarked, but Percy only huffed and turned his back to him once more, studying the flowers again with that odd look on his face, as if he was trying to make up his mind about something.

Jason watched him for another moment, then he resisted the urge to sigh and gave in, squatting down next to him.

"What are you doing, love?" He asked curiously, just to find Percy's grin widening, even though he wasn't immediately looking around.

"You know, you just said you love me twice. Once as a joke, once as a term of endearment. I think you're absolutely infatuated with me and just can't admit it, that's how it is." His boyfriend concluded smugly, and now it was Jason's turn to shoot him a pointed look.

"Right. And the other times I told you I love you were what exactly? Weather reports?"

Granted, things between them weren't quite the way they were with Nico and/or Will, but hey, when were they ever?

One day, Jason was going to get one of those groundbreaking movie moments with fireworks and music and the two of them professing their undying love to each other and whatnot – but until then, he was perfectly content with the way they were now, from their morning cuddles to Percy blushing to his roots when Jason grabbed his butt on occasion, to the way they still competed over the silliest things – though now most arguments ended with kisses (and occasional make-out sessions) rather than unresolved sexual tension he by now recognized as such.

He had sort of thought Percy felt the same way, since he had given no indicator anything was amiss or that he wanted anything to change.

Percy nudged his shoulder with his own, a teasing expression on his face.

"Relax, Sparky, I was joking. I just really wanted you to say it a third time, that's all. Oh, and for the record: _I_ love you _more_." He insisted, immediately easing Jason's nerves before he stiffened all over again.

No. No, they were _not_ making a competition out of it, Jason would _not_ have it!

" _No way_. You know I had my eyes on you first, Piper can vouch for it." He insisted, and decided he might be weaker than Percy in this regard.

Percy made a loud noise of complaint.

"Impossible! I totally saw you first. I _clearly_ remember laying eyes on you and being absolutely floored. Especially when I saw you flying for the first time."

Jason was about to argue that, when he halted.

 _Really_?

They stared at each other for a long moment, then both of them returned their gazes to the flowers, clearing their throats awkwardly.

"Well, actually, I think I really knew I _liked_ you when…when we were back here at Camp and you came knocking on my door in the middle of the night. Maybe because it was the first time I saw you let down your guard like that, but it really struck me, and it made me realize just how much I care for you. Granted, I didn't notice my feelings were _romantic_ due to our bromance and Nico, but…yeah…" Jason mumbled quietly, while Percy shuffled next to him, reaching out to touch one of the flowers.

"I think…I liked you first, then. I mean, realized it first. We were on the ship at the time, and you were talking to Leo, so I was kind of listening in because, hey, I was curious – plus, I really just needed to get out of my head, which was why I had come looking for you in the first place. Anyways, I…well, I might have gotten jealous because you were laughing so much because of _Leo_ , when you only _smiled_ with me, so I just sort of spied on you until he went back to work on the machinery some more or whatnot, and I just…you were walking away, and I guess I figured you have a…erm…nice…butt…" Percy admitted, his voice becoming more and more quiet and rendering the last part of his confession nearly incoherent, though Jason still caught it.

He felt his heart hammering in his chest, and if he had needed any more confirmation that, _yes_ , he was in fact in love with Percy Jackson, the anticipation and hopefulness that was now quickly followed by giddy euphoria clearly proved it, too.

"You checked out my butt while we were sailing to our deaths, and you didn't realize you were attracted to me?" He asked incredulously – because, _seriously?_ – and Percy let out a small wail as he hid his face in his hands, even if Jason could still clearly him blushing.

"Shush. I didn't _know_! I was dating Annabeth at the time and for all I knew, I was straight! I only thought you…well, you looked _really nice_ , okay? Fine, I thought it was kind of weird I couldn't _look away_ from you, but I just figured it was some sort of rivalry I was feeling, like I just wanna be more like you and look more buff or something. That's why I was so set on the bromance, after all. It seemed perfectly logical."

 _That_ was _anything_ but logical.

Jason decided not to point it out, instead moving an arm around Percy and patting him on the shoulder.

"Quite the mess, huh? If it hadn't been for the bromance, I might have realized I liked you as more than a friend, but if there had been no bromance, we probably wouldn't have done half of the stuff that led up to us knowing each other well enough to feel that way." He mused, and Percy let himself fall backwards onto his butt to lean sideways against Jason, apparently deciding they were going to stay here for a while – or, well, _sit_ here for a while.

Jason wondered faintly how this had to look to others, since he was pretty sure they were still clearly visible to anybody passing the lake in any direction – but then again, he couldn't care less what others thought when they saw Percy and him sitting in front of a bunch of flowers with their backs to the world.

This was his boyfriend, and if he wanted this, so did Jason.

So Jason sat down as well and leaned against Percy, too.

"Yeah. But, you know, I kind of wouldn't have wanted it any different. If we had been dating, I probably would have never gone through with the Advent Calendar for Nico. I mean, let's face it, I'd have so crushed on him, no matter whether we had been dating or not, because _look at him_ , but…yeah…"

"Yeah…" Jason agreed, deciding he definitely preferred how things had played out now.

"Do you think Will would have preferred that? I mean, he'd have been able to date Nico the way he wanted to, right?" Percy said suddenly, his face turning conflicted and torn, showing he was serious.

Jason tugged him closer and shook his head.

"He loves us, Percy. Back then, he might have preferred to have Nico to himself, but just as we changed over the course of the past months, so did they. Will loves you just as much as Nico and I do, and we _most definitely_ want you around. Permanently. What would we do without you?"

He wasn't quite sure this was actually what was bothering Percy, but it was this moment that reminded Jason of the past times Percy had brought similar things up, always talking as if he was easily replaced.

There he was, always lecturing them about thinking they were the odd ones out, and he himself acted as if he wasn't necessary for their happiness.

Dork.

Percy sighed, rubbing his cheek against Jason's shoulder again the same way he had done this morning, a small smile making its way back onto his face.

"I know right? You'd be screwed without me. Who would make you blue comfort pizza, huh?"

Jason huffed, wondering why Percy chose _that_ as a valid example when there were _hundreds_ of better reasons why they needed Percy, but he kissed the top of his head without argument, anyways.

"That's the spirit. Now, mind telling me why we're looking at flowers?" He asked, gesturing towards the flowers in front of them, and Percy's face instantly brightened again.

"Well, you see, _those_ remind me of Will, so I thought I'd pick some for him, but I'm not sure whether I should, because I haven't given you or Nico flowers. Wouldn't want to make you feel left out, would I now?" Percy explained with a grin and a nudge of his shoulder, but all Jason could do was raise his eyebrows.

"You…want to bring Will flowers?" He asked taken aback, studying his boyfriend's profile as Percy gazed back at the various flowers with an unusually fond expression on his face.

Percy wanted to give Will flowers? After eating him out and having sex with him?

And then Percy claimed he wasn't the sappy one?

"You think he won't like them? I don't know, I think they're pretty. And cute. Like Will." Percy shrugged, then smiled at the flowers again, and Jason had to exert all his self-control to keep the grin off his face, though it was a losing battle.

"Percy…" He started, turning towards his boyfriend and placing his hand on his shoulder in a gesture of consolation.

His boyfriend looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but…you're the biggest helpless romantic I have ever met."

Percy's face looked so wonderfully affronted, while his ears also turned a lovely shade of red, it was a delight to watch.

" _Shush_ , you don't know what you're talking about. I am _not_. I have no idea how to be romantic. Annabeth always got fed up with me because of that. Jason, _stop laughing_!" His boyfriend wailed indignantly, but Jason _couldn't_ stop, unable to help it even if he wanted to.

Percy groaned and punched his shoulder with a reddening face, but Jason merely leaned forward and pressed their lips together, even though he was still chuckling and had to break away a few times.

"Stop laughing!"

"You're so adorable, Percy. Will is going to _love_ it."

"Yeah, yeah. But you wouldn't be upset about not getting any flowers right now? Because, I've looked, but none of the ones here are really suitable for you, sorry." Percy remarked as he let go of Jason and gestured back to the flowers.

Jason looked at him in bewilderment.

Was he _really_ worried about that?

Jason didn't care whether he got any flowers, they'd only die in his care.

All he wanted was to watch Percy giving those flowers to Will, because that was undoubtedly going to be the highlight of his day.

"Shouldn't it be me bringing you flowers? You know, after deflowering your butt so many times?" He replied in a teasing voice and Percy's mouth fell open as his face flushed all over again.

"You…you…this is it. I'm _not_ talking to you _ever again_." Percy exclaimed loudly and turned away from him to get up, so Jason instantly made a despairing noise and chased after him, wrapping his arms around him before he could get away.

"Noo, you know I love you. This is just so sappy and adorable, I can't help it. Which ones are the ones you want to give him?" He asked hurriedly, but for a moment, Percy only huffed and didn't reply.

Jason waited patiently, his chin on Percy's shoulder and his arms still tightly around him, so he could feel the way Percy was beginning to tremble from the strain of ignoring Jason.

Percy had never been good at ignoring him.

Finally, Percy let out a loud sigh of defeat and wriggled in Jason's arms to get one of his own out to point at a bunch of pretty, yet also very delicate looking small white flowers with eight or so on one stem, pointing slightly downwards in a bell-shape.

They looked sweet and pure, just like Percy's intentions, and Jason was never going to get over this.

He turned back to Percy, who still looked rather pink in the face and seemed to await his judgment.

Jason gave him his opinion in form of several loud kisses to the top of his head, underlining his words.

"You. Are. Adorable."

He wanted to say more, but then resorted to rather hugging the hell out of Percy, who made a noise of complaint but didn't fight him in the slightest, while looking more pleased than annoyed.

"So you think I should?"

" _Do it_. Do you know what they're called?" Jason encouraged him and let him go so he could watch him worry his bottom lip as he reached out and…apologized to the flowers, before picking them.

Jason decided he was going to cherish Percy for the rest of his life, grinning like a madman next to him as he watched him, unable to believe this was happening.

Somehow, he felt like the happiest man alive, even though those flowers weren't even for him.

"I have no idea. I think I saw them before when I was looking for a flower for Nico's Advent Calendar, but I have no idea what they were called or what they meant. You think Will knows? What if I'm giving him flowers that mean something really horrible?" Percy asked, now sounding anxious as he held the flowers close to him with a flushed face and wide eyes.

Jason wanted to kiss him all over again, but decided to rather shake his head, instead.

"He'll love them. Plus, no flower that pretty can mean something bad. If it does, you'll just have to redefine their meaning and I'll back you up."

Percy's face instantly brightened, his grin back once more.

"You're the best. Thanks, Jason."

This guy was adorable.

"What exactly are you doing…?" A voice asked from the side and they both looked around, just to see Nico walking towards them with a small frown on his face.

"Percy is picking Will some flowers. Oh yeah, and we're on a date. Want to join?" Jason explained as Percy hurried to get up and looked flustered all over again.

"Jason! Don't sell me out like that, man. I _just_ said you're the best, don't make me regret it." His boyfriend hissed, but Jason merely laughed and moved towards Nico, who had his eyebrows raised now and looked between them with a partly bewildered, partly amused expressions.

"Flowers? Date? I was only gone for one hour, guys."

Jason wrapped his arms around him loosely and gave him a gentle peck on the forehead.

"Yes, you were. Over an hour, even. We missed you."

"I missed you more!" Percy piped up next to him and gave Nico a peck on the lips, though he didn't dare get much closer to protect the flowers from harm.

Nico of course picked up on that immediately, his eyebrows shooting up again.

Jason grinned to himself.

"Percy, we should probably get going, else we'll be late to pick up Will. Plus, your flowers will need water soon." He told Percy, and Percy instantly jumped and nodded.

"You're absolutely right. Come on then, let's go."

And with that, he started bouncing off again, leaving Jason and Nico to huff out small laughs and follow.

"So…flowers?" Nico asked, clearly intrigued, and Jason's grin widened.

"Yep."

"After he had sex with Will?"

" _Yep_."

"He's so freaking adorable, I can't take it." Nico commented and clutched his heart with the hand Jason wasn't holding.

" _I know_! You know, I don't think my heart will ever recover from this. Just look at him, all happy and bouncy and cradling those flowers." He raved quietly, shaking his head in disbelief, while Nico chuckled next to him and gave his hand a little squeeze.

"You're so in love. But seriously, he's _bringing Will flowers_? You know Will is gonna love that, right?"

Jason nodded wildly.

"Definitely. We should probably run by the Demeter cabin or Lou Ellen and get somebody to make them last longer."

"Like my flower? Will would _love_ it. He'd probably keep them with him all the time." Nico agreed and they both grinned at each other, before looking back at Percy, who was several feet ahead of them and waiting for them while bouncing up and down on his heels.

"Gods, just look at him. He's such a ray of sunshine. How do I deserve him, Jason?" Nico asked with a small shake of his head and a sigh.

"I ask myself that a lot, too. We're simply the luckiest guys in the world, that's just how it is." Jason reasoned with a shrug, and Nico's eyes gleamed when he looked back at him.

"We sure are. So, who had the idea with the date?"

That was his Nico, always asking the right questions, as if he already _knew_ – though Jason wouldn't be surprised if he did.

"He's on a roll today. Said he saw Annabeth and Piper take walks around the lake and figured I'd like it, so he took me here on a whim. Can you believe him?"

Nico grinned at him and gave his hand another squeeze.

"Sounds like him, alright? Just you wait, one day you'll wake up to find him leaving you little love notes."

Jason had to laugh at that, remembering that _one_ time in the Underworld when he had found that note in his boxer shorts – the note Percy had put into Will's hand, but that Will had deemed safer in Jason's underwear.

It was one of Jason's favorite things to remember.

"I can barely wait. You know, we were _just_ talking about another Advent Calendar."

Nico shot him a wild look.

"You can't be serious. It's barely _May_!"

At least Nico shared his opinion on this matter.

Percy wailed in front of them, calling over that he was going to leave them behind if they started walking any slower, so they decided to quicken their step at least a bit.

There was _no_ way they were going to miss the moment Percy was going to give those flowers to Will, after all.

"I know right? You know, I think you should totally deem this topic off-limits too, at least for the next months." Jason pointed out and watched Nico's cheeks flush as he undoubtedly remembered their conversation about fused names and marriage.

But it was the truth, Nico's word was law.

If Nico said a topic was off-limits, neither Percy or Will _dared_ to mention it again.

Which, in this case, might allow Percy some peace of mind, though Jason didn't doubt for one moment his boyfriend would find something else to worry about in no time.

Percy tried to rush them again, looking impatient, so Jason and Nico took him into the middle and held hands behind his back, since Percy was too busy clutching his flowers with both hands.

Jason would have worried the flowers wouldn't survive until they got to the infirmary, but for all the clutching Percy was doing, it seemed he was barely holding onto them, and they seemed perfectly fine, so all was well.

Seriously though, Percy was so precious.

"Nico, do you think he'll like them? Jason insists he would, but we all know Jason would never say it to my face if they looked horrible or it was a shitty idea. You know how he is. All kind and sappy and horrible."

Wow, thanks so much, Percy.

"Percy, don't be so mean, he might start believing that one day if you keep saying stuff like that. Plus, shouldn't it be your job to make your date happy, rather than insult them?" Nico chided, and Percy promptly pushed out his bottom lip in a pout, though he shot Jason an apologetic look, anyways.

"Fine, I apologize for insulting him. I shall not call him sappy anymore from now on – at least until tomorrow."

Jason shook his head and rolled his eyes amused.

That guy.

"No, but seriously, you know I love you just the way you are, dude." Percy added in a much more serious tone, even leaning over to give Jason a kiss on the cheek, though he promptly wailed and worried about his flowers.

"They're perfectly fine, Percy. Don't worry, he'll love them." Nico reassured him while Jason was too busy grinning off into space, but Percy only huffed doubtfully.

"He won't like them if they arrive wilted and dead." He sulked, but when Jason checked the flowers, they seemed in perfect condition to him.

"Percy, he's going to love them even if they're wilted and dead. You could probably give him a stick and he'd still love it. Those are perfectly fine lilies of the valley. He's going to cherish them forever." Nico insisted, and Percy promptly seemed back to his euphoric self again.

It was good seeing him like this, especially after this morning.

Yes, Will definitely deserved those flowers.

"So, lilies of the valley, huh?" Jason asked as Percy bounced off again, the infirmary coming closer and closer.

Nico gave a small nod.

"I think so, at least. Will showed them to me back when I helped him out in the infirmary more often and he'd try and get me outside every here and there." He replied quietly, their eyes still on Percy to make sure he wouldn't change his mind and bolt, or rush in too fast.

"Sounds promising. Does he like them, then?" He asked, but Nico only shrugged.

"I think so? He told me they're poisonous and rambled about the effects of said poison on the heart."

That…sounded a lot like Will, sadly enough.

"Though I _do_ think he also said something about them being the symbol of a 'return to happiness'." Nico added after a moment, and Jason decided that _definitely_ sounded promising.

They caught up to Percy when he stopped in the middle of the doorway with a look of utmost regret, clearly reconsidering his decisions.

"Don't you dare, Percy." Jason deadpanned and gave him a little push, before the three of them filed into the infirmary.

"But…but…"

"Hey Will, your boyfriends are here!" Kayla called immediately, and Percy promptly started shuffling and looking around in an apparent rush of panic, as if looking for a place to hide the flowers in.

But then, they heard Will call back an 'I'll be right there', and they found their boyfriend moving automatically towards where the voice had come from.

Nico and Jason exchanged a look, then followed slowly, leaving some space between Percy and them.

They wanted to watch, not breathe down their necks.

"This is going to be so good." Jason muttered, and Nico nodded with a small grin.

"I wish I had my camera with me right about now."

Oh yes, that would have been awesome.

Kayla's and Alec's heads popped up to their left and right, peeking at Percy as well.

"Is he…are those…?" Kayla asked ever so quietly, and they both nodded with broad grins.

"You guys are the cheesiest bunch I've ever seen." Alec remarked dryly, but they both shushed him hurriedly when the door to Will's room opened and their boyfriend stepped out, seemingly surprised to find Percy right in front of it, flowers behind his back.

Jason felt Nico grabbing his arm, both of them holding their breaths as they watched, wishing they could _hear_ them, too, but there was too much buzzing around them to make out very much.

"You look very nice today, Will."

Yes, hopeless romantic, most definitely.

"Percy, I'm wearing the same as always, and my hair is a mess."

Will, the fool.

"Still. Anyways. I…I got you something…I mean, I brought something. I didn't actually…erm…hey, I went on a date with Jason."

Oh gods, Percy was so awkward about this, Jason wished he had a camera to record it.

The noise picked up around them, much to their frustration, but they watched how Will smiled and leaned back against the door, saying something back to Percy that apparently put him at more ease, since he started moving slightly and smiled a little wider, though he still seemed nervous beyond measure.

"Come on, Percy." Nico whispered next to him, and Jason whole-heartedly agreed.

It seemed to take _forever_ until Percy finally shuffled and mumbled something, before holding out the flowers to Will with a flushed face and his eyes on the ground.

By now, not only were Nico and Jason watching intently, but also Alec, Kayla, Austin, and a couple of other Apollo kids, all of them either holding their breath or hissing at others to shut up as they all stared at the scene unfolding in front of them.

To say Will was stunned would be understatement, seeing as he stood there with his mouth open and his eyes blinking rapidly at the flowers in his face, his arms half raised at his sides.

Then, they watched his face flushing a bright, vivid _red_ , his freckles promptly beginning to glow as he took the flowers gingerly, like they could break any second, his lips splitting into a wide, fond smile.

"I…thank you, Percy. That's…that's really sweet of you…" He mumbled almost shyly, and Nico let out a small breath next to Jason, probably as affected by the sight as he was.

"You like them?" Percy sounded so hopeful, looking at Will with that _look_ , so open, so hopeful, so giddily excited.

Will's lips split into a wide, radiant smile as he looked from the flowers to Percy.

"I love them. They're beautiful, Percy."

"Yes. Just like you."

There was a collective ' _Aww_!' sounding around them in varying degrees of intensity and volume, but Will and Percy only had eyes for each other as Percy stroked through his hair and whispered something else, which had Will shaking his head softly and move closer, pecking him on the lips.

Aww, only a peck on the lips?

There Jason would have expected Will to-…

The next moment, Percy let out a startled squeal as Will grabbed him and tipped him sideways to give him a _real_ kiss, the flowers still safe and sound in Will's hand at Percy's back.

 _There_.

Nico and Jason shared a fond look, then looked back at their boyfriends.

"We are the luckiest guys in the world." Nico whispered, and Jason nodded.

"We sure are."


	12. Chapter 12: The Sleepover

**A/N:** Hey there, Cupcakes :D

Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Holidays everybody!  
I hope you're all having a great time :D

Big sorry for not making it for the update in time, but hey, here comes Chapter 12 - albeit unedited XD  
(So, yeah, proceed with caution and best of luck~)

Only one week then the year will be over! :I Time sure flies.  
Not sure whether I'll make it for next Sunday's update, but I'm working on it.

Thank you so much for reading and for your continuous support by Favoriting/Following the story and leaving reviews.  
You're the best, and looking at all those kind words is still the best gift I could have ever imagined receiving.

Wish you all the best, and hope you'll enjoy the chapter~  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 12: The Sleepover**

Jason woke up and promptly wanted to go back to sleep.

It was so nice and warm in bed like this, with Percy nestled safely in his arms – and Nico behind him with his body rubbing against him slowly and sensually.

Turning his head with a small frown, he found Will behind Nico, mumbling in his sleep and clutching the Italian closer, which led to Nico grumbling in complaint.

Jason wondered whether that was why he was moving like that, or whether he was simply having a really nice dream – though the fact he didn't push them away and flee from the heat more indicated the latter.

Smiling to himself, he turned back towards Percy and pushed his head further into the pillow with a satisfied sigh.

Yeah, he so wasn't getting up.

Ever.

He was about to close his eyes once more when he felt Percy shifting, a small, drowsy sound escaping his lips as he rubbed against Jason's clothed chest with his cheek, his hand running up his thigh in an almost tickling way.

"Why, good morning, Sparky." Percy greeted him with a sleep-laced voice, though the fact he blinked his eyes open and greeted Jason at all meant he must have been awake for a bit longer already.

There went his intentions of going back to sleep or at least pretending to be asleep a while longer.

"Good morning. Had a nice sleep?" He asked quietly and stroked over Percy's side, luring a soft and content sigh out of his boyfriend.

"Yeah. I had a pretty cool dream. I dyed my hair blue and we went to some weird concert of the Weird Sisters. Don't tell them, but they _sucked_. But to make up for that, they had these super funny drinks that came in different colors and tasted really weird and you looked _so hot_ in that leather outfit Will made you wear." Percy promptly started rambling, making Jason sigh inwardly and tug him closer to give him a kiss on the forehead.

He had the weirdest dreams, seriously.

"I already have a leather outfit, Percy." He pointed out quietly when Percy started going on and on about how he had to get Will to get Jason that outfit at some point, though he also thought it kind of sweet.

"Yes, but you never wear it! I swear, we're all getting wet dreams over you in that outfit, but you never indulge us."

Mhm, the world surely was a cruel place.

"You never told me you want me to wear it." Jason replied simply and closed his eyes again, pressing Percy's face into his chest to prevent him from beginning to ramble all over again.

It even worked for a minute or so.

Then his boyfriend wriggled in his hold and pulled back.

"You're so cuddly in the mornings. How did you ever survive being single?"

 _That_ was a good question.

Unfortunately, it was also one Jason didn't want to think about this early in the morning, not with him being this comfortable.

"I didn't. I was dead inside. Now get back here and cuddle me." He deadpanned and reached out to pull Percy back closer, making his boyfriend chuckle and give in.

"Fine, fine. What, having one of your lazy days?" Percy teased with a peck to his collarbone, surprisingly placid for somebody who still liked to complain whenever Jason kept him close to his chest rather than letting them be eye to eye.

"Yes." Jason retorted with a huff, then buried his face in Percy's hair, noticing Nico had stopped humping his back in favor of turning around and wrapping himself around Will, apparently molesting him instead.

Since Will didn't make any sound of complaint and seemed to grin when Jason peeked back at them, he saw no reason to interfere, instead returning his attention to his boyfriend, who was squinting up at him.

"For real?"

Jason grumbled and kissed his nose.

"Yes. If you get up, bring me my toothbrush. I'm staying here forever." He retorted and Percy snorted out a small laugh, before settling back into his embrace.

"You're so weird. Plus, shitty timing, man. You had half a day off _yesterday_ , shouldn't you have had a lazy streak then? When you didn't have to get up and work?"

Jason moved his hand under Percy's shirt and over his spine, making him jolt slightly.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not getting up today. Nothing can get me out of this bed." He insisted stubbornly and closed his eyes to prove his point, even though Percy wasn't looking at his face.

His boyfriend had the audacity to laugh at him.

"Yeah, right. You know Chiron will probably send someone to fetch you, no matter what we try or do."

Yeah? With Jason's current mood, he didn't give a damn.

"Then they'll return to him with a very polite message of 'Fuck off'." He retorted and Percy chuckled again, way too loud for Jason's liking.

"Oh really? Since when are you one for rule breaking? What happened to my oh-so-responsible and duty-loving boyfriend?"

Jason felt insulted.

"Clearly on vacation. Now, let me indulge in the peace and quiet, you tease." He remarked and pinched Percy's side, making him jump again, though he didn't seem perturbed in the slightest.

He also didn't become any more considerate.

"No way. I'm intrigued now, Jace. Will managed to make you move the last time you had a lazy streak. I bet I can find a way, too." Percy insisted, and Jason groaned and rolled onto his stomach to bury his face in the pillow.

Nope. He wasn't going to have any of that.

Plus, back then, he had only moved because Will and he had traded secrets – _and_ because he had decided to let Will win the round so he could one-up Percy.

There was nothing comparable Percy could offer him.

Percy cackled next to him, apparently unaware of that fact.

"Aww, come on, let me give it a try, will you? So, before I start getting you out of bed, anything that's off-limits?"

Plenty.

"Don't touch me. Don't talk to me. You can come cuddle when you're not being a tease. Otherwise, shoo with you." He retorted with another groan and Percy stilled next to him, before pinching his arm.

Ouch.

"Ha-ha. Come on, Jace, give me a chance. Pretty, pretty please?"

Jason didn't even need to look around to know he was trying to win him over with his puppy face.

But he also didn't need to look around to know Percy wouldn't give up until Jason gave in, so that was a bit of a downer.

Then again, he might as well let Percy _try_.

"Fine. Do as you wish." He replied with a half-hearted shrug, and his boyfriend whooped in triumph.

There was shuffling next to him, then he felt Percy's body moving dangerously close, before his boyfriend moved _on top of him_ , just laying there with their bodies pressing together and the blanket over both of them.

(Why was there even a blanket? Had it been that cold last night? Jason couldn't remember.)

Hands found his temples while lips pressed against the back of his neck, even as Jason tried hiding most of it by drawing up his shoulders.

What a _tease_.

What was he doing? Trying to seduce him?

"Okay, any pointers? Come on, give me a hint. I mean, I _could_ drag you out of bed if I wanted to, but I'd very much rather not."

"I'll murder you if you do." Jason grumbled, but Percy only gave him another peck, his fingers massaging Jason's temples gently.

His touch could stay, his words had to go, though.

"Nah, you're a sweetheart." Percy insisted confidently.

"Wouldn't bet on it." Jason replied simply, closing his eyes again and trying to come up with all the possible things Percy might come up with.

"Can I bribe you with anything? Breakfast in bed? Candy? A new date since the last one didn't last for very long? Morning sex?" Percy started counting off options, and Jason rolled his eyes to himself.

Right. Was it just him, or was Percy horny?

If so, he should probably get closer to Nico, he seemed in the perfect mood for that.

"Peace and quiet." He replied, making Percy huff indignantly.

"Okay, so you want to be stubborn, fine. I'll find something eventually. A massage?"

 _That_ sounded promising.

"Wait, that won't get you out of bed. Never mind."

Damn it.

"What if I take this blanket and put it in another bed? Would you go and get it?"

Jason whined into his pillow, wondering how he deserved such a cruel boyfriend.

"No."

Percy bit his shoulder lightly, and Jason turned his head to glower at him, just to get a small peck on his cheek.

"What if I smooch you? Will that animate you to get up?"

Seriously?

"No."

"Rude." Percy remarked, but gave him another peck before moving his hands through Jason's hair again, apparently liking something about it, since he continued.

Jason considered moving his face back into the pillow, but since the pecks and touches were more pleasant than disturbing, he decided to stay like that.

Percy had his chin on Jason's back, staring off into space thoughtfully as he moved against Jason absent-mindedly, probably trying to get more comfortable.

Then, his boyfriend sighed and placed a peck to his clothed back.

"Fine. Can you turn around? Let's cuddle, then."

Jason's eyebrows shot up.

For real?

Percy caught his look and made a face, but moved onto all fours to give him space to move.

"Come on, would I ever lie to you?"

Jason's expression was answer enough, and Percy nudged his side as he made to turn around in a very exaggerated fashion.

"Fine, I probably would. But to be honest, I kind of like you like this. I'll try again later, when I _actually_ want you to get up."

Yeah, right.

Jason made a noncommittal sound and settled into the sheets, holding out his arms for Percy to lay down on top of him again, which Percy did almost instantly, and surprisingly gently – Jason wasn't sure why, but he had almost expected him to just flop right back down.

He moved his hands to Percy's back, stroking over his shirt and watching him getting comfortable with his head against Jason's chest.

This…was kind of nice.

Definitely the closest they had ever gotten for non-sexual purposes.

"I know what you mean, you know? I don't want to get up, either…" Percy mumbled against his chest quietly, and Jason moved one hand up to stroke through his hair.

"Let's stay here, then." Jason said simply, making his boyfriend breathe out a weak laugh.

"You know we can't. Got stuff to do, kids to train, battles to fight, wars to win…"

"What if there was war, but nobody went to fight?" Jason mused, and Percy let out a wistful sigh.

"So, how did you sleep? Any nice dreams? You looked rather content when I first woke up." Percy tried quietly after a moment of silence, but Jason only shrugged.

"I never remember my dreams, Percy. But I'm sure I had a good sleep, what with you in my arms and all." He replied, and Percy moved his head to grin up at him cheekily.

"I know right? I'm the best you're ever gonna get."

"I know. The best drama queen, at any rate." Jason agreed, and Percy pinched his chest in retaliation, though he regretted it when he jolted right along with Jason.

They poked at each other playfully, but settled down soon enough again, Percy's head back on his chest and Jason's fingers idly playing with his dark hair, both of them just lying there with their eyes closed, enjoying the silence around them.

Then, their boyfriends stirred and shifted more and more, Nico grumbling about the heat and Will grumbling back that Nico could simply _let go_ then, though Nico didn't seem to like that option much, still hogging Will to his chest like a teddy bear.

A big teddy bear.

"Think they're waking up?" Percy asked curiously, both of them watching as Nico started frowning and grumbling louder, while Will wriggled in his hold and complained with a jumbled mess of nonsensical words.

Jason shrugged, though he was pretty sure the answer was yes.

Sadly, Percy seemed to think the same, moving to get off him to probably molest their boyfriends.

Jason couldn't help but sigh deeply, already missing the intimacy.

Unexpectedly, Percy froze in the middle of pulling his leg over Jason, and Jason looked around at him in question, taking in the quizzical, almost hurt look on his face.

What? What had he done?

Jason blinked at him, but Percy didn't speak up, his expression suddenly going forcefully blank.

"Percy, what…"

Okay, whatever it was that Jason had done must have been _horribly_ bad.

Percy tried to pull away, but Jason snatched his arm and pulled him back in, ignoring the noise of complaint that followed as he wrapped himself around him in a matter of seconds, keeping him squished underneath him, his mind working furiously to see what he could have possibly done in the short amount of time it had taken for Percy to get up and off him.

He hadn't said anything, hadn't moved his arms in any way that could have hurt Percy, hadn't even looked at him in any sort of way, really!

All he had done was-…

Jason groaned against Percy's skin.

"Percy, I didn't sigh because of _you_!" He exclaimed, moving his face to the side of Percy's neck in utmost frustration, but his boyfriend only let out a small noise of complaint.

"Yeah, yeah, I gathered as much. Now stop crushing me, dude."

No.

Jason was gonna crush him all he wanted.

He bit his neck to emphasize his point.

"Seriously, what is it with you and my sighs, though?" He asked, thinking of how hurt Percy had looked for a moment, how vulnerable.

"It's a sign of disappointment, man! I wasn't even doing anything, but it felt like I did that wrong! It's like you telling me I fucked up just by existing!"

Jason had said no such thing.

"What?" He asked confused, and now Percy was the one sighing, which Jason would love to point out if it wasn't for the fact he genuinely wanted to solve this mystery.

" _Explain_." He ordered when Percy didn't immediately speak, and his boyfriend grumbled in annoyance, though he then _sighed again_ and put his arms around Jason's head, as if to forcefully keep him right there and keep him from looking up.

If he hadn't wanted Jason to look at him, he should have just said so. Jason was considerate most of the time, after all.

"Come on, don't act stupid, Jace. You know what I mean."

"I really don't." Jason replied, still ever so confused.

"You never had a teacher sigh at you in utmost disappointment when you got back another F? Or several teachers? Or _all_ of your teachers, in all classes, in all the schools you went to? You never had anybody sigh at you with that look of 'I shouldn't have expected any better' on their faces? Oh wait, true, you probably _didn't_. You didn't grow up a walking failure, did you now?" Percy remarked, sounding bitter and as if he was lashing out at Jason, though Jason was too occupied processing his words.

"I'm not sighing at you though? Plus, that was because of your ADHD and dyslexia right? That doesn't make you a failure, Percy. It's not your fault you're a demigod." He replied cautiously, but Percy only huffed, clearly still upset.

"So? Nobody outside this Camp would know that, Jason. To the rest of the world I'm just a dumb kid that could never finish college. They don't care about ADHD or dyslexia, they just see your stupid grades."

Yeah, well, the rest of the world could go to hell for all Jason cared.

He gave Percy a tentative kiss against his skin.

"You'll finish college in New Rome with us, we already agreed to that, Percy." He said quietly, but Percy didn't bother to reply.

"Don't think like that, okay? You're great just the way you are. Did your mom ever make you feel as if she was disappointed in you?" He asked, and Percy stilled.

"No…" He admitted quietly, making Jason smile and give him another kiss against his skin.

"There you go. Whose opinion counts more? Some random, shitty teacher's, or your mom's?"

He knew he had won when the tension left Percy's body and his hands started stroking through Jason's hair rather than trying to suffocate him.

Jason pulled back to give his boyfriend a peck on the lips.

"There you go. Though I'm still sorry for making you feel that way. I can assure you I didn't mean it that way, no matter when I sighed." He apologized and gave him another peck, even though Percy started grumbling in complaint and waved his hands about in Jason's face to shoo him.

" _Whatever_. I get it. I know you didn't mean it. As I said, I gathered as much. You stopped doing it all that much, anyways."

Of course Jason had. Percy had told him he didn't like it, after all, so obviously Jason had tried his best to keep it down around him.

He just wished he had known the reasoning behind the dislike beforehand.

"Sighing is my way of letting out my frustration with the world – and to emphasize my exhaustion from having to be so love-deprived all the time." He told Percy, and predictably, his boyfriend immediately stopped his waving about, instead staring at him with an incredulous expression.

"What do you _mean_ , 'love-deprived'?!"

Ha. Gotcha.

Jason nodded gravely.

"Yes. Because you always cuddle _them_ so much more than _me_. I'm feeling _so_ unloved, Percy."

" _By the gods_." Percy groaned loudly, absolutely not buying it, though when Jason let himself fall sideways into the bed to fake-sob to himself, his boyfriend came closer immediately to wrap his arms around him, anyways.

"You know, others might be fooled into thinking you're some strong, mighty hero, but you're really just a giant softie looking for love and somebody warm so you can leech off their body heat." Percy remarked dryly as he stroked over his back and let Jason wrap himself around him happily.

"Oh dear, you've got me all figured out." He retorted unfazed, making Percy cackle quietly.

"I know. I'm awesome like that."

They heard grumbling from behind them and looked around, just to find Will and Nico with their earlier positions switched, so Nico was the poor soul pressed against Will's chest, wriggling and complaining, while Will seemed to drool into his hair with a pleased look on his face.

"Aww, how cute, you're rubbing off on him." He remarked amused, which promptly led to Percy biting his shoulder.

Jason laughed to himself quietly, deciding this was the sort of morning he liked.

He still didn't want to get up, though.

...

Anybody who thought a quiet, peaceful start into the day would guarantee a quiet and peaceful day was _dead wrong_.

"Eh? Didn't you tell them, Nico? Guys, we talked to him yesterday, and he agreed we'd do the sleepover tonight. There'll be lots of snacks and drinks – no alcohol of course – and I feel compelled to inform you the traditional _Truth or Dare_ will _definitely_ happen. But hey, you're lucky! We'll be using the Aphrodite cabin, not one of yours, so at least you won't have to deal with the mess and with innocent campers stumbling over anything you might have hidden anywhere." Annabeth announced as she stood before them, having successfully interrupted their breakfast – and their peace of mind.

"It's not that many people, since we wouldn't be able to fit them all in one cabin, and the forest is off-limits at night still so we can't make use of Bunker 9, either. So yeah, just us, a few of your siblings, Will, as well as Lou Ellen and Cecil, some of Annabeth's siblings, my cabin of course, and Leo." Piper continued, but no matter how one calculated, that still equaled _a lot of kids_.

Before any of them could say anything though, both Annabeth and Piper excused themselves with broad grins and matching 'See you later, then!' – and then they were gone.

For a long moment, there was silence.

"A sleepover."

"We're screwed."

"Truth or Dare."

"We're _screwed_!"

"I want to go back to bed."

"We're _so_ -…take me with you."

"Let's _all_ go back to bed!"

This was going to be a long day.

And by the sounds of it, an even longer night.

...

Why did the day have to pass so quickly?

Nico was not ready for this.

Earlier, when Will had told them all the horrendous stories of past 'afterhours group activities' between the cabins and how Truth or Dare games had become a sort of 'tradition' – next to them being the cause for most fights and disputes between and within the cabins, of course – Nico had hoped the day would pass quickly so he'd be able to just get it over with.

Now, he wished it was still morning so he could change his mind and let Will and Percy pick up breakfast alone, rather than the three of them getting Jason out of bed to share their first meal of the day together before they'd have to part for the day due to their different schedules.

In a way, it was his own fault, though.

If he just hadn't agreed with Annabeth so easily…

But she had made it sound as if everything had already been settled!

He hadn't _known_ she would play him like that!

(Maybe this _was_ her payback for his beating her at the riddles back in December…)

When she had urged him to go with her, he had thought it was something about Clovis, so of course he had been occupied imagining _the worst_ , while Annabeth had just…wanted to talk about a sleepover.

Well, in all fairness, she _had_ talked about Clovis as well, telling him he was doing better but now tended to keep to himself a lot, even though Nico wasn't sure whether/how he could help with that, seeing as he wasn't exactly a very outgoing nor open person himself, and didn't really see anything wrong with seeking peace and quiet instead of people.

But yeah, he had totally been played, there was no denying it.

He should have realized it, but back then, when she had just mentioned the sleepover he had promised the Apollo kids, he had only been relieved to find there was nothing horrifyingly _bad_ happening, so he had sort of just…confirmed it.

Closely followed by him agreeing to her that they should _totally_ have said sleepover 'soon'.

Not to mention that it would be a _great_ idea to let some other friends join in – the more the merrier, right?

Nico really should have realized something was off.

But he hadn't, instead agreeing with a frown and the question 'Why is she asking _me_ this?' floating around in his mind, though he had – idiot that he was – brushed it aside in favor of not seeming paranoid.

Now, this was his punishment.

Nico let out a loud, long sigh, and Jason and Percy shot him knowing looks from both sides as they walked (very, _very_ slowly) towards the Aphrodite cabin.

"I'm so sorry." He mumbled for the hundredth time today, but he couldn't help it.

They had actually made plans just this morning for today, with going to their clearing, some movies, some cuddling, definitely some making out…

Now, they'd be stuck all night with a bunch of way too nosy kids trying to beat each other at asking the worst and most mortifying questions.

"Nico, don't worry about it. I told you they've been planning this for a while already, it was only a matter of time. I should have known they'd target you the one time I'm not around." Will put in as his head poked out from Jason's other side, but Nico still couldn't help but feel guilty, no matter if Will had already told him this very thing at least a hundred times as well.

This was going to be horrible, he just knew it.

Will had claimed he had been 'going easy' on them compared to these games, and in Nico's opinion, their past games had already been awkward and mortifying enough by far.

At least they were dating now…

Though he knew they'd still be the main target – maybe even especially because of that, since they would be the only established couple next to Annabeth and Piper.

He could only hope they wouldn't end up getting into trouble.

Will had told them of way too many dares gone wrong, with injuries or mortifying situations that had gotten the parties involved into way more trouble than the games could have possibly been worth, though that hadn't stopped anybody from playing them, apparently.

Though it was still a mystery to Nico why anybody in their right mind would take somebody up on a dare to jump over a relit Camp Fire in the middle of the night, anyways.

Not to mention a dare to go outside blindfolded. _Of course_ that would attract trouble - especially when the demigod in question was naked but for their socks and underwear and it was nighttime and the cleaning harpies found them and chased them to the Big House.

Nico sure as hell was happy he hadn't been around to either witness or experience that, but he could completely understand Chiron's decision to prohibit such games and activities (at least after a certain hour, and with the game rules having to be 'PG13').

Needless to say though, _nobody cared_.

At least Will had told them plenty of times today that nobody cared, nobody had ever cared, and nobody would ever care, because kids would always be kids, and the more there were, the higher the risks had to be, apparently.

Nico was still dreading what was to come.

"Relax, Nico. We're screwed, so we might as well accept it." Will said sagely, though that didn't reassure him one bit.

"Come on, you two, don't be so negative. I'm sure it will be a fun night." Jason put in next to them in a chiding tone – and Nico was _about_ to feel at least a little bit hopeful…but then he remembered Jason was _always_ optimistic in hopeless times like these.

In fact, the more optimistic he was, the more hopeless the situation tended to be.

Nico squinted at his boyfriend, and found Jason smiling his most encouraging smile, while his eyes screamed of knowing just what horrors awaited them.

They were so screwed.

"Jason is right. Really, what _could_ happen? We're already dating, so it's not like they can pull anything off that will actually affect us all that much. I mean, if we _weren't_ dating yet, I could totally picture them doing all in their powers to make us as uncomfortable and mortified as possible to get us to get together, but…we're already there. Shouldn't that make them lose interest and focus more on other participants?" Percy mused thoughtfully, but all Nico could think of was that he didn't want Percy saying that too loudly.

In the end, somebody would see it as a challenge and they wouldn't get a single peaceful moment tonight.

Will let out a loud, clearly doubtful snort next to them, his face telling Nico that he could think of tons of things that could happen tonight, though Nico didn't want to know.

He'd have to find out soon enough.

But hey, maybe it _really_ wouldn't be all that bad.

There would be Annabeth and Piper, those two would keep things in line, right?

Plus, the Apollo kids were _Will's siblings_ , they _surely_ wouldn't want to make him nor his boyfriends _too_ uncomfortable, right?

Okay, the Aphrodite kids definitely had it out for Nico, he already knew that, but maybe Jason's and/or Percy's presence would draw their attention away from him and let them all just have some fun without fluster and embarrassment.

"Exactly. It will be fine." Jason agreed with Percy, and Nico wished he could tell himself the same.

Unfortunately, they were almost at the cabin already – and with the door opening immediately and Drew, Cecil, Lou Ellen and Leo standing in the doorway and waving them over with matching 'innocent' grins – he already wanted to turn around and leave again.

Ironically, it was _Will_ who held him back by switching places with Jason and hogging his arm.

"No way, Neeks. If _I_ have to suffer, so do you. We're going down together." His boyfriend hissed into his ear, but Nico _really_ rather wanted to leave.

There was _so_ much to do around their cabin, after all.

Yes, he should _totally_ re-organize the stuff in their cupboards, or clean the water fountain, or sort the DVDs by name, release date, color, _whatever_.

Nico wanted to argue and/or point out he was far from social in general and that he would do nothing but make people uncomfortable with his silence, but couldn't find the words (which proved his point more than anything else, in his opinion), so he merely shook his head wildly.

"But _Nico_! You said you would protect me! I am in _desperate_ need of your protection!" Will lamented with a small whine and Nico paused, wondering what the hell he was even talking about – while also wondering how Percy and Jason could betray him like this, because they acted as if they couldn't see both Will and Nico freaking out, instead waving at the others.

"Protect you from _what_?" He hissed back urgently as he tried to find a possible excuse he could use to get out of this somehow, but since this had been his fault in the first place, he was pretty sure there really was nothing he could do.

"Annabeth! She's using this as opportunity to drag me off and _talk_!" Will exclaimed with utmost conviction, and Nico threw him a bewildered look.

What…?

Will nodded at him insistently, his expression pleading, but Nico couldn't tell whether he was serious or acting right now.

What _was_ it with Annabeth and Will, anyways?

"Just you wait and see, Nico. She's going to wait for a chance to pounce, and in that _one_ moment you guys won't be around or I'll be out of earshot, she'll be there! Just see how she went about _this_! She took you aside the moment I wasn't there, just because she knew I wouldn't be able to say a thing if _you_ agreed to a sleepover." Will ranted, but Nico still didn't understand.

He glanced sideways at Percy and Jason, but those traitors seemed distracted with their own heated conversation…about possible dares to get Leo back for his horrible jokes at their costs.

"What does she even want to talk about?" Nico asked quietly, racking his brain for a possible explanation as to what Annabeth could possibly want from Will that made him this uncomfortable and actually _voice out_ said discomfort.

He knew she was trying to get more information on Kyle, but if she dared to bother his Will about that, then she could forget about it right away again.

" _Things_ , Nico. Things that _I_ don't want to talk about, especially not with her."

"And what am _I_ supposed to do about that?!" Nico exclaimed, though the thought of grabbing Will and running off to have some sort of surprise date or to simply _get away_ seemed more appealing than ever.

But he was pretty sure Percy and Jason wouldn't catch on quickly enough to come with, and while Nico wanted to get away, he also didn't want to leave his other two boyfriends to suffer by themselves.

"I don't know, but just come with and let me hog you for a while until I manage to calm down!" Will shot back almost immediately, which gave Nico pause.

He blinked at his boyfriend, taking in his pleading expression.

He _was_ serious, wasn't he?

That was a lot of honesty, though.

Out of nowhere, too.

Something inside Nico shifted and he swallowed, looking back towards the door of the Aphrodite cabin, where their friends were still waving and grinning at them with ill-suppressed glee that promised nothing but the worst.

He stopped struggling, instead moving his other hand to clasp Will's on his arm, a sense of calm settling over him.

Come on, he had gone through worse before, this would be nothing, right?

If he managed to survive two Truth or Dare games with three guys he was madly in love with, he'd survive one sleepover with his amazing boyfriends and the people he had befriended in the past.

Plus, if Will needed him, then who was he to deny him that?

"I'll stay by your side, then." He said quietly as they lagged behind Percy and Jason, who shot them matching comforting looks before greeting their friends.

Will seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then his hold on Nico's arm loosened, and he let out a small, relieved sounding breath.

"Thank you."

Nico interlaced their fingers and gave his hand a small squeeze, the way he and Percy always did.

"Hey there! You took awfully long to get over here. Come on in, everybody else is already here. Cecil really outdid himself with the snacks, though I'm pretty sure the Stoll's helped with organizing them." Drew piped up and Cecil huffed indignantly, though he also didn't argue the point.

Nico and Will shared a miserable look, Nico's not-voiced-out offer of 'Let's just run away and watch a movie instead' floating around between them – but then Percy and Jason chose that very moment to wrap their arms around them from left and right and urge them forward, so there went that idea.

"Sounds great!"

"Seems like you already started without us."

Percy and Jason said loudly and with bright smiles on their faces that betrayed their mutual knowledge of doom.

The moment they crossed the threshold, Nico was hit with a wave of _noise_ unlike anything he had ever experienced before, and both he and Will groaned miserably – Nico because of the number of people in such a small cabin, and Will because of Annabeth making straight for them immediately, her gray eyes blazing with mirth.

This was going to be _fun_.

...

Nico felt more than a little uncomfortable as he sat on his designated pillow on the ground, Jason to his left, Will to his right, and Percy next to Jason.

So loud.

So many people.

So many _conversations_.

Was he supposed to say something?

If so, what?

He looked at Leo, who was hard to miss, standing on his pillow and gesticulating wildly with a screwdriver in one hand and a small, electronical device in the other, going off about things Nico had never heard of before, but that were apparently related to whatever he was building.

There was definitely nothing he could add to that conversation, so he didn't even try.

His gaze moved over the bunch of Apollo and Aphrodite kids that were listening pensively, instead settling on Austin, who was telling Kayla something about target practice and how he had heard Chiron might let them get newer and _better_ bows.

Nico's archery skills weren't good enough to allow him to add anything to that, and he couldn't say he really wanted an 'advanced' bow either, his sword suited him more than fine.

Moving on, he saw Piper and Annabeth having some sort of hushed conversation.

Yeah, they would _totally_ want him to join in on that.

Nico glanced sideways at Will, who was still holding onto his hand but had calmed down and relaxed considerably, now laughing at something Alec had said, even if his eyes still strayed to Annabeth every here and there.

He couldn't join that conversation either, since it was something about music, and Nico knew absolutely nothing about that.

Suppressing a small sigh, he looked back at Piper and Annabeth for a moment, then moved on to a bunch of Aphrodite kids giving some advice on make-up to a flustered looking Apollo boy.

Since the boy didn't look upset or overly uncomfortable, he was pretty sure he _wanted_ that advice though, so Nico saw no reason to interrupt – and since he had no idea about make-up, nor felt any need to try it, himself, that settled the matter for him.

His gaze moved over the other campers in the room, all having their more or less private conversations about the most random things.

Yeah, well, he guessed he had tried to be social, but luck simply wasn't on his side.

"Hey Nico, what do you think?" Jason asked next to him with a nudge to his arm, and Nico looked around at him and Percy.

"What?"

Last time he had checked, they had been busy talking about whose pegasi was better (though Percy kept insisting Jason's 'storm-horse-thing' was _not_ a pegasi), so Nico had most definitely tried to stay out of that conversation to keep them from forcing him to pick a side.

"Who would be stronger in a fight? Mrs. O'Leary or Cerberus?" Percy asked with a hopeful look, and Nico frowned at them both.

"Why?" He asked, but both of them shot him looks that said he should just reply without questioning their logic right there.

Dorks.

"Mrs. O'Leary." He replied, and Jason whooped, while Percy's face fell.

"What? _Why_?! Cerberus has _three_ heads, Nico! _And_ he almost chewed _my_ head off! Plus, he's _bigger_!" Percy promptly started lamenting, while Jason poked his side and told him he was simply a sore loser, looking disturbingly pleased with himself.

"First of all, size doesn't matter. Second of all, he just doesn't like you because my dad doesn't want to like you. Third, Cerberus is nothing but a giant cuddly toy - know his good spots and he's much like a lazy Jason, which makes him useless in a fight. Mrs. O'Leary knows fighting and has no qualms tearing down her enemy, while Cerberus is simply awkward and wants to play fetch and cuddle on your lap thinking he's got the size of a Chihuahua." Nico explained, thinking of all the times he had played with Cerberus in the past, and all the times Mrs. O'Leary had tried some play-fights with him, just to have three heads looking at her in utmost confusion.

When he looked back at Percy to see whether he had gotten his point across, he found both his boyfriends sharing matching dirty grins and mumbling 'He said size doesn't matter' under their breath while repeatedly nudging each other – and Nico was absolutely _done_ with these guys.

"You are the _worst_." He huffed out indignantly, trying to stop his face from heating as he turned his back to them to flee to Will, who gave his hand a confused squeeze as he looked around, his conversation immediately forgotten.

"Hey, what are you doing to my Nico?" Will asked accusingly as Nico shifted closer to him with a pout, unwilling to look back towards those traitors.

"Aww, Nico, we didn't mean it like that! Come on, you know we love you!" Percy tried immediately, but Nico only huffed and didn't grace them with another look, instead drawing patterns on Will's palm with a pout.

Will gave him a kiss to his temple and tugged his pillow closer so they could sit with their sides pressing together, then he shot the guys a last dark look before returning his attention to Alec, promptly changing their conversation to something Nico could actually participate in, too.

"Oh, _come on_. Nico, we didn't mean it bad…come on, baby, love us again…" Percy whined behind him, but Nico wasn't moved in the slightest, nope.

Okay, maybe he was fidgeting and had a hard time not to turn around, but he could absolutely be upset with his boyfriends for getting him flustered about something so stupid.

"Nico, we're sorry. Percy started it." Jason said in a serious tone as his hand stroked up and down Nico's back in apparent apology.

Percy promptly huffed.

"Low blow, man. You were the one grinning first."

"Oh? What am I hearing? Trouble in paradise?" Drew suddenly piped up and they all looked around at her, Nico's heart instantly dropping.

Oh no.

" _What_? Really? Well, we can't have that. Oh, I know what could help!" Cecil put in, the broad grin appearing on his face once more.

" _A truth or dare game_!" Several kids yelled, and Nico inwardly groaned.

Wow. Not only had he gotten them into this sleepover-mess, he had also just brought forth a game of torture for them all.

Nice.

Could he go home now?

"We…what? No! There's…no trouble. No trouble at all! Just some friendly bickering. We're _always_ bickering friendly. Isn't that right, Jason? Nico? Will? We are _pros_ at bickering. Right? Hahaha…" Percy tried, trailing off in an awkward chuckle, but everybody was already raving about the Truth or Dare game, so Nico was pretty sure their fate was sealed.

"Well, I had hoped to wait another hour until we start the game, but I suppose there's no harm as long as we keep the dares _inside_ the cabin." Annabeth mused thoughtfully, and, _yes_ , their fate was sealed.

Nico buried his face at Will's shoulder, but his boyfriend had no reassuring words to offer, instead patting his arm with a soft 'We're so fucking screwed'.

There was rustling, then shuffling, and Nico glanced around just to find everybody scrambling to their designated pillows in record speed, apparently having just waited for this game to start.

"We should talk about the rules once more before starting." Jason put in hurriedly, his voice clearly audible even with all the noise in the room, but he went ignored for the most part, while Annabeth just threw them a pitying smile.

"Rules? When playing with us? Forget it." One of Will's brothers quipped, and Nico's heart sank even further.

"Yeah, the only rules there are, are for penalties and that everybody gotta be honest." An Aphrodite boy agreed, but Annabeth and Piper shushed the lot, anyways.

"Rules might not be all that bad. The last time, there were way too many dares, after all." Annabeth reasoned, and Nico wanted to know _when_ she had last played.

Not to mention _why_.

"That's because nobody wants to answer the juicy questions." A girl mumbled and Nico was pretty sure he didn't want to answer _any_ questions, especially not with the Apollo/Aphrodite kids around.

"Yes, and this game is going to be different. I say we can only pick the same thing twice in a row." Annabeth announced unfazed.

No way.

"Three times." Nico put in quickly, which made most of the people in the room look around at him.

Had he mentioned he hated being the center of attention?

It was great when he was in bed with his boyfriends, but in a room full of people? Not so much.

Annabeth threw him a challenging look, but then smirked.

"Fine, three times. In return, the Apollo cabin has permission to scan for lies."

Will stiffened to a board next to him, but Nico could only breathe out a sigh of relief.

As long as he was honest with his replies, he'd be fine.

Who knew, with so many kids participating, maybe it would only be his turn three times and he'd get away with a few embarrassing questions, but nothing more.

"What are the penalties?" Percy asked, and Nico was glad he had smart boyfriends that asked the right questions.

"That depends on the situation. If somebody refuses to answer a question or do the dare, the group decides the penalty. If a dare goes wrong, there are usually no penalties. If a question is answered untruthfully, the culprit goes in the bin of shame." Annabeth replied, and Nico nodded quietly, before frowning.

Wait…

" _Bin of shame_?" He whispered to Will in confusion, but then Drew already lifted and waved a giant, empty bin around, with a note stuck to it that said 'Bin of shame' and a weird smiley face.

"Let's see who ends up in here first this time!"

Great…

Nico did _not_ want to go into that thing.

Hopefully, he wouldn't have to.

"Anything else?" Annabeth asked, and Nico would love to request that they'd go easy on them, but he had a hunch that wouldn't achieve anything.

Oh well, he had survived worse, right?

At least they were dating already.

Plus, they all knew the four of them were exclusive, so he doubted they'd make them do anything with anybody else.

They'd be fine.

Will patted his arm again with a face that spoke volumes, but Nico could only hope they'd be _his_ definition of 'fine', not Will's.

...

"Oh, oh, I got a good one! Nico: Can you tie a cherry stem with your tongue?" Leo asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows, and Will glanced sideways at his boyfriend, who looked adorably confused.

"Erm…yeah? Why?"

Aww, so adorable- wait, really?

Immediately, there were exclamations of 'Whaaat?' and 'Really? Show!', as well as 'Prove it, di Angelo!' sounding through the room, before a bowl of cherries came flying out of nowhere that Jason luckily managed to catch without anybody getting injured, though there were quite a few cherries lost on the way.

Wow, Will sure was glad they had picked the Aphrodite cabin for this, and not one of theirs.

He'd hate to be the one doing the cleanup tomorrow.

Nico still looked confused, now almost disturbed.

"Erm…okay? But why?" He asked, now looking at Will with that innocent and bewildered expression on his face that Will would never be able to resist.

So, being the good boyfriend that he was, he leaned forward to explain it to him.

"It's said that people who can tie a cherry stem in a knot with their tongues are really superb kissers, sweetheart." He whispered into his ear, satisfied to no bounds when he saw Nico's cheeks dusted in a faint pink.

"Oh."

Aww, so adorable.

In moments like these, Will almost forgot how badly he did _not_ want to be here.

Though so far, he had to admit both the game and the night itself was fairly okay.

Of course, he had a hunch that would change in a moment, since this had been Nico's third 'Truth', but eh, one could always hope.

Nico picked one of the cherries to pluck off the stem and look around once more, as if uncertain whether they were actually serious in wanting to see proof of his words.

Since everybody was still egging him on though with matching expressions of glee and curiosity, Nico caved in and put the stem into his mouth, his cheeks turning a darker shade of pink from all the attention.

Percy and Jason shot each other knowing looks, but nobody pointed it out, instead staring intently at the Italian.

After barely a minute, Nico opened his mouth to show a perfectly tied stem.

"Erm…yeah. Couple of kids taught me that in…well…the casino. Yeah…" He mumbled awkwardly while the room erupted in cheers and whoops and whistles, and Will rubbed over his boyfriend's thigh in reassurance.

"That's a pretty cool skill, Nico. I should have known. Your kissing is too good to be unpracticed."

"I practiced with Percy." Nico deadpanned, but Will wasn't perturbed in the slightest, instead winking at him and eating one of the cherries, himself.

Maybe, if he drank some water right after, they'd let him excuse himself so he could run back to their cabin and hide.

The stomach cramps might actually be worth it.

Nico's eyes narrowed and he tugged the bowl of cherries away almost immediately, hissing a quiet 'Don't even think about it, sunshine' under his breath at him that showed he knew exactly what Will was considering.

Damn it.

"Okay. Erm…Piper, truth or dare?" His boyfriend then asked as if nothing had happened, though his hand found Will's moments later to entwine their fingers once more.

"Truth." Piper exclaimed with a giddy grin, apparently having the time of her life.

So far, people had certainly gone easy on _them_ , that much was certain.

"Hmm, what's your favorite pet name for Annabeth?" Nico asked, and Will had to stop himself from laughing at the dark look Annabeth shot them immediately.

Needless to say, there was the instant melodic ' _Oooh_ ' coming from his siblings, while the Aphrodite kids giggled and wiggled their eyebrows, but nobody was surprised about that either.

Nor was anybody surprised about Leo arguing he did _not_ want to know what those two called each other when things got hot and dirty - which wasn't even what Nico had asked, but nobody pointed it out.

"Well, actually, we give each other quite a few pet names, and mostly random. But…I think my favorite would be ' _mon chou'_." Piper replied with a smile at her girlfriend, though Annabeth didn't seem moved in the slightest, instead mumbling something about never having found out what it actually meant.

There were a few kids asking what it meant, but the Aphrodite kids kept quiet with knowing smirks on their faces, which only seemed to make Annabeth pout even more.

"Alright, my turn…Drew? Truth or Dare?"

Oh man, not _Drew_.

She'd pick one of them next, Will just knew it!

Plus, with Nico having used up his third Truth, he was bound to use Dare, and Will had hoped to spare Nico that fate for as long as possible.

Poor soul.

"Dare." Drew replied after a moment's hesitation, squinting at her half-sister.

"Ooh, _daring_. How about…lend me your crop top for a week. The one with the French saying on it." Piper declared with a cocky wiggle of her eyebrows, while Annabeth's eyes widened.

Apparently, somebody was into seeing their girlfriend in crop tops.

Will glanced sideways to look Nico up and down, wondering how high chances were _Nico_ would try one of those on for him sometime.

Unfortunately, Nico caught him in the act, and his expression said 'Fuck no, get that idea right out of your head again, sunshine'.

Aww, what a shame.

"Ugh, fine, it's too cold for me to wear it, anyways. Just make sure I get it back washed and in the same condition as before. No funky stuff." Drew grumbled as she got up to rummage through the drawer next to her bed, then tossed Piper a blue and pink shirt that reminded him of the bisexual-pride flag.

Nice.

"Now… _Nico_! Truth or Dare?"

Ha! Nailed it!

"Oh come on, it was _just_ my turn!" Nico lamented, but nobody took pity on him.

They should have brought this up when they had talked about rules, but Will had seen the look Annabeth had given Nico when he had spoken up, so Will hadn't wanted to push his luck, even though the thought had crossed his mind.

Now, his sweetheart would have to suffer the consequences.

Why Nico, anyways?

Drew seemed awfully fixated on him, as if she had some sort of secret vendetta.

Well, whatever it was, it had better be something harmless or she was going to get into trouble with _him_.

"Just do it, sweetheart. Truth or Dare?" She asked sweetly, and Will grumbled under his breath, not liking it one bit how _she_ called _his_ Nico 'sweetheart'.

Nico let out a deep sigh of defeat.

"Dare…"

Will shot the guys a look and found them looking at Nico with sympathetic looks.

"Splendid! How about this: Let me give you a quick make-over!"

 _Oh dear._

Nico sighed miserably and his shoulders slumped, breaking Will's heart a little bit.

"Aww, no need for that face, Nico. You'll only have to wear the dress for three rounds." Drew drawled as she got up and motioned for him to follow as she hurried over to her drawer again and all but tore it open.

Wait…

" _Dress_?" Jason asked before Will could, and they shared a stunned look while Nico froze in the middle of the room, his face quickly paling.

"No. No way. I am _not_ wearing a-…" His boyfriend started stuttering, while the others started mumbling and cheering and giggling.

Oh gods.

"But you already agreed to the dare!" Drew exclaimed, looking positively insulted, her hands still in the drawer.

"You did." Annabeth agreed in a small voice, though she didn't look very happy, either.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with boys wearing dresses." Piper put in with a frown, just to have Leo loudly agree and claim _he_ had been wearing dresses _plenty_ of times in the past.

Will decided not to question that, though he did get up automatically.

"Well, if Nico's wearing a dress, I'm gonna put one on, too." He announced, then wanted to bury his face in his hands, pause time, take a step back and reconsider all his life choices.

Why. Why had he said that? He did _not_ want to put on a dress.

They made him look weird, and his siblings had already laughed at him enough back when he had worn that stupid polka dot one for a dare, he _definitely_ didn't want a repeat of that.

Nico shot him a wide, almost hopeful look, and Will resigned himself to his fate.

Anything for his boyfriend.

"Well, if Nico and Will are doing it, I want one, too! The gods know I'll look _ravishing_." Percy put in immediately and got up as well, dragging Jason along with him, too.

"Why am I getting up." Was all Jason said as he fixed his glasses, but nobody seemed to question it as everybody but Annabeth and Piper started _freaking out_.

Suddenly, it wasn't just Drew searching for a dress, but apparently _everyone_ , since all drawers and closets were ripped open and loud exclamations and yells filled the cabin.

Oh gods.

"Jason's wearing one, too. Jason, if we have to do this, so do you." Percy announced and caused Mitchell and another Aphrodite girl to squeal and clutch each other in apparent delight, hopping on the spot while uttering loud, unintelligible screeches – before rushing off to nearly _jump into a closet_.

Apparently, this was going to be a big thing.

Great.

"At least I'll look better than Percy." Will muttered under his breath and found his boyfriend shooting him a sulky look.

"Excuse you, I'll look _awesome_. You won't be able to take your eyes off me."

He already never could.

Will rolled his eyes and moved to stand next to Nico, pressing their arms together as his hand slipped back into Nico's.

"Thanks." Nico whispered barely audibly in the noise around them, but Will could hear him just fine.

"Anytime, babe. Wouldn't want you uncomfortable, after all." He replied with a small shake of his head.

"Same. It will be much harder for them to attempt making fun when it's all four of us. Plus, it seems like they've just been _waiting_ for a chance to drool over us in dresses." Percy mused as he used Nico's free shoulder as an armrest, which had the Italian grumble while Jason was busy cleaning his glasses and frowning to himself.

"I highly doubt they'll really…find anything I can wear…" He heard him mumble and paused, glancing back at Mitchell and the other Aphrodite girl, who were trying to drag something were big and puffy looking out of their closet.

"I'm pretty sure they already did, Jason. Big sorry about that. Looks like you'll be…quite the princess…" He replied forcibly blankly, while struggling with himself not to laugh.

In a matter of minutes, they found themselves ushered to the small bathroom with various pieces of garments shoved into their hands, and it was only thanks to Piper that they actually got to get changed _alone_ , since there had been at least five people who had apparently intended to stay and watch.

"Why is yours yellow? You look much better in blue." Percy pointed out grumpily with a nod towards the dress Will was holding, before looking down at his own, just to make a face.

"Why is _mine_ not blue? Why are none of our dresses blue? I want something blue."

"At least you got a dress, Percy. I got…actually, I'm not quite sure _what_ this is." Jason muttered with a lost look on his face as he held the monstrosity that was going to be his dress.

In all honesty, it looked like one of those very puffy Cinderella dresses straight out of a movie/fairytale.

Will would have to get Leo to make him a camera real quick, because he absolutely _had_ to get a photo of this.

"I think my dress is broken." Nico put in feebly and Will looked around to see what he meant, just to lay eyes the shortest dress he had ever seen.

Well, second-shortest. The negligee Silena had to wear once had been slightly more revealing, but he decided that didn't count.

Trying to keep a straight face, Will cleared his throat.

"How so, babe?"

"Well, a part of it is clearly missing. This looks more like a top. Maybe it's not a dress, at all. I should ask Drew." Nico decided with a frown, and Will _wanted_ to stop him, but Nico was already at the door _asking Drew_ , which resulted in several kids slapping their hands to their foreheads and _plenty_ of chuckles as Drew explained ever so patiently that, _yes_ , this was the complete dress, and _yes_ , Nico would _have_ to put it on.

Oh gods.

"But my underwear will show!" Nico yelled at the closing door, and now Will _definitely_ wanted him to shut up, because…

The door opened again, and something small and black was thrown into Nico's face, who stared with wide eyes and agape mouth at Drew's gleeful smirk before the door fell shut and the piece of clothing slid off Nico's face and to the ground.

Yeah, that was _exactly_ why he should have stopped Nico from speaking up.

For a long moment, there was dead silence in the bathroom, in which Percy and Jason stared, while Nico bent down to pick up the panties as if they had personally offended him.

"I am _not_ wearing this." He said sternly as he held up the flimsiest piece of black lace Drew could have possibly found, and Will had to control his breathing.

"I am not wearing it." Nico repeated, his voice shaking slightly, and Will had no idea what to do.

"It's new, Nico! Just freaking put it on, you'll be fine!" Drew yelled from the other side of the door, undoubtedly eavesdropping along with the rest of her siblings.

"I'm not. Wearing. This." Nico repeated for the third time, his eyes pleading with Will to get him out of here.

Will opened and closed his mouth, then looked towards Percy and Jason, mutely screaming for help.

"I'll just…put on my dress…yeah…" Percy excused himself, that freaking traitor, while Jason scratched the side of his neck with one hand and studied the tiles at the opposite wall awkwardly.

Wow, thanks for the help, guys.

"Do you…want to switch? I can probably fit your dress if I try hard enough." Will offered awkwardly, though he was pretty sure that he would, in fact, _not_ be able to fit into Nico's dress.

Unless he left it open in the back _and_ wanted to expose body parts that should not be exposed.

Nico stared at him for the longest moment and Will was almost certain he'd actually agree – but then he let out a miserable sigh and turned his back to them.

"No, it's okay. It's only for three rounds…I guess…"

Well, so much about the game not being all that bad yet.

If they already had to wear way too short dresses _now_ , what was in store for them _later_?

Will glanced around at Percy and Jason again (mainly to look away from Nico, who was ever so reluctantly undressing), just to find Percy already stripped to his boxer shorts and socks, studying his blue-green dress as if it was a very difficult construction he first had to figure out.

Jason was still looking at his own dress with the same lost look as before.

Sighing to himself, Will started undressing to slip into his own, glad it was long enough to reach to his mid-thigh and not all that tight.

In fact, it was actually quite comfortable, even though it seemed to be made entirely of lace - which would explain why it was see-through at parts, but he guessed this was some sort of summer dress (at least the somewhat floral design hinted at that), so it would be stupid if it was out of thicker material.

He still had to wonder why the Aphrodite kids had dresses, in the first place.

Where had they come from? Why were they here?

The kids at Camp were only allowed to wear Camp clothes, and the occasional sweater or jacket, but _dresses_?

Especially considering _Jason's_ dress…

"How do I look?" He asked to kill the silence, holding up his arms awkwardly after fixing the yellow fabric a couple of times so it fell over hips somewhat nicely.

He knew he should have shaved.

Out of the four of them, he was the only one actually used to shaving, but it was kind of difficult to groom when they kept taking their showers together or when he had to rush through said showers.

Jason glanced at him, only to be unable to tear his eyes away, a blush promptly creeping up his neck.

Percy flat out gaped at him, before pointedly clearing his throat and forcing his eyes back up from Will's legs to his face.

"That…you…it looks very nice."

Will would lie if he claimed he didn't feel smug about _those_ reactions.

 _Much_ better than laughter, that was certain.

Wiggling his eyebrows, he decided to be shameless enough to present himself a little bit, fluffing up his dress and turning in a circle before striking a pose.

"You think so?" He asked innocently, just to find Percy's expression changing to one of _want_.

"It brings out your legs very nicely." Jason said ever so quietly, his eyes still glued to Will, and Will had to admit he _loved_ seeing his guys like this, his heart fluttering in his chest as he could practically feel that boost of self-confidence.

"Will, I need your help. This…I don't understand." Nico whispered helplessly and Will looked around, instantly hurrying to his boyfriend when he looked ready to cry, his dress pulled up halfway, though he seemed uncertain what was up and down.

"Let me see…" He said hurriedly, tugging at the short, _tight_ dress and wondering whose idea it had been to put _Nico_ into this.

He was going to look like sex on legs, Will just knew it.

Fuck, he already had a freaking perfect ass in those skinny jeans of his, now with him in a dress like _this_ …

Nico looked him up and down, a small blush appearing on his face that didn't seem to come from his own dismay for once, and Will swore he could feel Nico's hand brushing along the side of his dress as he stepped closer to pull Nico's dress up the right way around, trying to ignore the lace panties he glimpsed beneath.

At least he left Nico in the belief he didn't see those, because there was no way he could _really_ ignore something like that.

Fuck you, Drew.

"You look great." Nico commented quietly, and Will felt that warm, fuzzy feeling pooling in his lower stomach, though he tried not to let the praise get to him too much, especially given their current situation.

"Thank you. Just wait till you're done, though. You're going to look absolutely stunning in a moment, babe." He replied for a lack of anything better to say, but Nico only let out a doubtful huff.

"This thing is too short. I'm not going to be able to sit down, especially not on the floor." Nico mumbled miserably, though the same thing had already occurred to Will when he had first laid eyes on their dresses.

"Hey Jason, how do I look?" Percy asked loudly, and both Will and Nico looked around, just to freeze.

Well, _damn_.

Percy's dress had at first seemed rather plain, so Will hadn't really thought much about it, especially considering Nico's or Jason's nightmares.

But…Percy looked pretty damn good in it.

From the front, it actually still seemed fairly plain, but in an oddly graceful way, with its long sleeves and high cut to barely show off Percy's collarbones, and reaching to the floor without issues.

The back, however…

Well, first of all, it didn't _have_ a back, which made for a splendid view of Percy's lean, muscled, wonderfully tanned skin from his neck down to just above his butt, looking much more alluring than it probably should.

It looked so freaking elegant, too, unlike Will's summer dress.

Jason smiled and stepped closer, his own dress deposited on the closed toilet seat as he reached out to run one finger down Percy's spine.

"You look _ravishing_."

Yes, he really did.

Percy shot them cocky smirks, wiggling his eyebrows at the lot of them.

"Oh really? Better than Will with his long-ass legs?"

Hey. Rude.

Will glanced down at himself, wondering what they were even talking about – his legs were the same length as always, after all.

Jason moved his hands to cup Percy's backside.

"You look ravishing." He repeated, this time in a low purr, and Will and Nico threw each other pointed looks before returning their attention to Nico's dress.

"Let me zip it up, then you should be all done." He said and motioned for Nico to turn around.

After a moment's hesitation, Nico did, holding his hair aside as he went to make it easier on Will, which made him wonder vaguely why Nico hadn't tied it up today.

He tried to focus on the task at hand, but the moment he had the zipper all the way up, his hands were at Nico's sides, smoothing down the length of the dress to his hips.

Yes.

Yes, he looked freaking ravishing.

Will wasn't going to let him out of this bathroom, no way.

"Damn, Neeks." Percy uttered behind him, but Will ignored him, unwilling to share as he wrapped himself around his boyfriend from behind, his lips immediately at Nico's neck while his hands now ran up and down Nico's front.

Nico seemed initially surprised, but not upset or displeased, letting him inspect the dress in his own way, though he poked his arm the moment Will tried to move his hand _beneath_ the dress.

"Behave." His boyfriend chided, and Will grinned against his skin with a small hum.

"Sorry, this suits you too good. Check yourself out in the mirror, babe." He whispered into his ear and tugged on it playfully before pulling back, allowing Percy to take his spot at last, albeit reluctantly.

He watched with narrowed eyes how Percy made straight for that delicious backside, but then got distracted when he noticed Jason holding up his own dress with a look of mild distress.

"Need my help?" He offered as he walked over, noticing how unusual it was not to wear pants, at least when he wasn't already in bed.

Pretty chilly, too.

He'd have to check on Nico regularly to make sure he wouldn't catch a cold from this.

"Yes, please." Jason replied without hesitation and accompanied by a helpless look, so Will took the dress from him, wondering what Percy's problem was.

This _was_ blue, even if it was a very light shade.

If Percy truly wanted to wear a blue dress, he should have simply switched with Jason.

Granted, Jason's broad shoulders would have probably torn the dress Percy was currently wearing, but they'd have found a solution eventually.

Will tried to hold up the dress to look at it properly, but found that near impossible since it was almost bigger than him.

Hm, usually, these things came with a petticoat to make it so puffy…

Will frowned and stuffed his hand into that mess, just to _find_ said petticoat, which would explain why Jason hadn't been able to figure this thing out, since the freaking thing was connected to the _top_ of the dress with a series of safety pins for whatever reason.

Tugging it out with a sigh, Will wondered whether the Aphrodite kids had wanted to torment them like this on purpose.

"Alright, put this on first-…"

"Holy Hera, you broke it." Jason breathed with a horrified look on his face, staring at the petticoat Will was holding, while Will stared back at him in confusion.

"What? No, I didn't. It's meant to be this way. Chill, Jason. Strip down and slip into this monster."

Jason didn't seem very reassured, but he did start tugging off his clothes with pursed lips, folding them neatly into an orderly pile on the closed toilet seat.

Will glanced behind him at the three heaps of clothing from Nico, Percy and himself, but decided not to comment.

Instead, his eyes fell on Percy and Nico – who were busy making out, with Nico pressed against the wall and Percy most definitely trying to pick him up as they kissed the hell out of each other.

Will scowled, but refrained from speaking up, since he had no idea who could be eavesdropping on them right now and he didn't want any more trouble.

He turned back to Jason and they started getting him into the petticoat, which was fairly easy, though the straightening out of all the layers was anything but.

Then they had to struggle through getting the actual dress over Jason's broad shoulders, making Will wonder whether it might not have been smarter to attempt putting this one on _first_ , and _then_ the petticoat – though that idea was discarded the instance he realized Jason would have never managed to get the petticoat correctly positioned that way.

"Why are people wearing these? Seems horribly impractical." Jason commented darkly, and Will wondered faintly what Jason even thought of this.

He didn't seem horribly displeased, but he was the only one of them who hadn't actually _offered_ to wear a dress, but who had just been thrown into the mix thanks to them.

"Wait until you're all set, Jason. You're going to look like a Disney princess." He replied reassuringly, though he knew that had nothing to do with Jason's original statement.

"Hm. Didn't Percy want to be a princess, though? I'd much rather wear something like you or Percy. This makes me feel a bit like a joke." Jason remarked, playing around with the puffed up lace at his upper arm and trying to tug it back up onto his shoulder, though it _wasn't_ meant to go there, and Will tugged it back down mercilessly.

"Jason, these things cost a fortune. While I can guarantee some will laugh, I have a hunch people just _really_ want to see you as a Disney princess. You'll look pretty, anyways. I know _I_ think you're still _very_ handsome in this." Will assured him, though it _was_ a bit difficult to take Jason seriously when he stood there with a slightly flushed face and a dress that was wider than he was tall.

"It's definitely better than _my_ dress." Nico put in dryly as he appeared next to Will, his hands tugging down the fabric repeatedly to cover him properly, while Percy appeared to Will's other side with a grin as if he had won the lottery.

"Oh, already done, are we?" He commented darkly, not even trying to hide his pout.

"Jealous? You know you can have us anytime, sun-bug." Percy purred back at him, but Will was spared a reply when they heard a series of squeals and yells from the other side of the door.

"Thanks a lot, Percy." Will remarked with a sigh and helped puffing up Jason's dress properly, while Nico and Percy looked at each other with wide eyes and pink faces.

"See? Told you you'd look beautiful, Jason. Just look at you. Now all that's missing are glass slippers and a crown, and you're good to go." Will said in a softer voice, feeling Jason's unease as he took him by the arm and dragged him over to the mirrors.

"Don't give them ideas, Freckles." Jason replied, then looked at himself in the mirror.

"And I look ridiculous." He added in mild disappointment.

Will shook his head and moved to wrap an arm around him, fighting against the layers of doom to squish their sides together, their dresses clashing in style and color so much _that_ seemed ridiculous.

"Nonsense, we look awesome. The color brings out your eyes. It's all in your mindset, babe. If you feel you look good, you'll automatically look good, no matter whether you're running around in suit and tie or a garbage bag." He insisted, just to have Percy appear at Jason's other side to wrap an arm around him as well, going through the same struggle with the dress, which was now puffing out in the front and back, rather than the sides.

"Will is right. You look super pretty, Jason. I want to put glitter on your face."

"Don't put glitter on his face, Percy." Nico warned the moment Percy's eyes started hushing over the various make-up utensils that were arranged more or less neatly on and around the sink.

"Guys, come on, get the hell out of the bathroom and show us!" One of the girls on the other side yelled and they looked around with conflicted expressions.

"Don't you _dare_ defile those dresses, guys. Percy, I mostly mean you!" Another person piped up and Percy's mouth fell open.

" _Me_?! I would _never_ -…"

"Don't even go there, Percy. Let's just go." Will interrupted him hurriedly, though Nico already put his hand over Percy's mouth to shut him up, both of them knowing full well they didn't want to make things worse for any of them.

They moved over to the door, but then Will found his boyfriends hesitating again, _all three of them_ checking their dresses and tugging at the fabric nervously.

Oh gods, they were so adorable.

Will grinned at them, then decided to set an example, acting completely unbothered and above his own nerves as he looked down at himself with a satisfied nod and opened the door, marching out of the bathroom as if he owned the place.

He already knew what to expect, after all. After years with his cabin and all the Truth or Dare games, one got used to such things, after all.

The moment he marched out, people were too busy scrambling out of the way anyways, most of them momentarily thrown off by being caught eavesdropping quite that obviously to react to his actual outfit yet.

"Tadaa!" He called into the room and struck a pose, much to his own and his sibling's amusement, who immediately started whistling and whooping and holding their thumbs up or urging him to turn in a circle.

"Sexy!" "You look splendid, baby bro!" "Geez, you rock this look!"

Aww, he loved his siblings sometimes.

"Oh gods, Nico, you look _hot_." Leo blurted, looking right past Will, but Will didn't care, feeling rather smug about the stunned expressions on some of the guys' faces as they took in the sight of Nico, who was almost pressed against Will's back at this point and rather pink in the face still.

"Yeah, of course he's hot. I've been telling you guys this at least a hundred times, what are you surprised about?" He deadpanned as he wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, who made a small sound and tugged on his dress again, though Will nudged his hands away.

"No worries, babe. I'll make sure it stays in place. Take a deep breath and show it off just once to make them shut up, okay?" He whispered encouragingly into Nico's ear, inaudible for anybody other than Nico thanks to Will's siblings giving him the same support they had shown Will.

(Which was to say they praised the hell out of him while Alec shrieked 'Damn right, make everybody here question their sexuality, bro-in-law!' – Will would have to have a talk with him by times.)

Nico gave a small nod, though he didn't pose, even if he let go of the dress ever so reluctantly to show the entirety of the dress and his body, causing Will's siblings to whoop and cheer even louder.

Percy came to their rescue by taking one out of Will's book and stalking into the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, looking smug and cocky as he grinned at Annabeth with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Eh? Not so bad, right? And then you tell me I'd look shitty in a dress. Ha."

Annabeth gazed back at him nonplussed, while Piper looked rather amused, motioning for Percy to turn around so she could see him from all sides.

"Not bad. The color suits you. Now, what about…Jason…" Piper trailed off, her eyebrows shooting up as she looked past them towards Jason, who was walking out of the bathroom looking conflicted, though he did follow them and show off the dress – even if it looked a tiny bit awkward, still.

"I am disturbed you guys even have this dress." He muttered as he crossed his arms in front of his light blue and shimmering dress, which made his biceps bulge and the fabric strain across his muscles.

"And _I_ am disturbed to see you wearing it." Drew retorted with a look between disappointment and amusement, though her next glare was directed towards Mitchell and the girl that had pulled out said dress.

"Thanks so much, guys. We could have put him into something sexy and revealing, and you just had to go make a princess out of him."

Somehow, knowing her intent made Will immediately grateful for the princess-look.

"He's such a pretty princess though." He remarked the same moment Leo did, and the two shot each other surprised looks, before Will's expression turned to a challenging one.

 _His_.

Leo's eyes widened and his face changed to one of mild disgust as he shook his head and arms wildly in a clear statement of 'Heck no, I don't want your guy, you can keep him!' – which made Percy glance at Will with an amused, knowing look, clearly catching the exchange.

Will decided to ignore them both, instead wrapping one arm around Nico and one around Jason, taking them over to their seats.

"So, that was Nico's dare. Sweetheart, your turn." He called loudly, trying to draw the attention away from a still uncomfortable Jason and from their dresses.

Unfortunately, neither Nico or Jason seemed willing to sit down, while Percy flopped down onto his pillow in such an ungraceful manner it put his dress to shame.

"I can't sit down in this!" Both Jason and Nico hissed from his left and right, but he merely waved off and tugged them down with him, grabbing hold of the puffed out skirts of Jason's dress to drape them over his and Nico's laps in a heartbeat.

"Here we go. All set. Jason, straighten out your dress a bit. See? Perfect." He announced and had both his boyfriends grumbling under their breaths, before Nico realized everybody was waiting for him to continue their game.

"Can I pick Drew so I can dare her to something really horrible?" Nico asked curiously, much to the amusement of the other campers, though nobody gave him the permission, so Nico settled on picking Cecil instead, who had to answer the very difficult question of 'What's your favorite cake?'.

(Nico was such a sweetheart.)

There was still lots of mumbling and snickering, and Will was pretty sure he heard the telltale sound of a camera snapping pictures, though he couldn't spot the culprit, and definitely didn't want to alarm his boyfriends even more, so he kept quiet.

Yes, this game was certainly going to be _something_ , alright?

He just hoped things wouldn't get much worse than this.

"Hey, Percy! Truth or Dare?" Cecil asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows, though Will wasn't alarmed yet.

Cecil would surely only ask/dare reasonable stuff, right? He _was_ Will's friend, after all.

"Ermm…Truth?"

Yeah, Percy should be fine.

"Who's the biggest?"

Will took it all back.

"Fuck you, Cecil!" Will yelled over as Percy's ears turned crimson and his eyes hushed over to Jason for a split second, who was pointedly ignoring the world around him in favor of smoothing out his dress.

" _Ooooh_!"

Just great.

"I refuse to reply to that! That's _private_!" Percy exclaimed, which wasn't the smartest thing to say in Will's opinion.

If it had been him, he'd have simply stated their heights and deadpanned that, duh, Jason was the tallest.

Sadly, it was too late for that now.

"Annabeth! Annabeth, I'm calling for penalty!" Cecil immediately called, that freaking traitor, and Percy wailed loudly, burying his face at Nico's bare shoulder.

"You're all such children. Percy, put Drew's heels on and walk around the room."

Wait, why did Annabeth get to decide the penalty? Hadn't she claimed 'the group' would decide the penalty?

Percy asked the same thing indignantly, but the room was already roaring with agreement and laughter and Drew stormed off to fetch the heels in question, so he guessed that settled the matter.

This time, it was Percy throwing him the helpless look Nico had given him before, and Will fell victim to it all over again, groaning inwardly at his own dismay.

"Drew! Fetch me some, too. I'll show Percy how to walk in them." He called out, much to the surprise of Jason and Nico, who shot him wild looks – and Will wondered since when they had been hogging his arms, because they were both clearly still glued to his sides, and were only reluctantly letting go of him now.

Neither of them offered to wear heels, though Will couldn't say he was surprised about that.

"Thank you so much, babe. You're the bestest, I love you, _so much_ , my bestest, my sweetheart, my savior…" Percy rambled as he suddenly popped up behind Will and wrapped his arms around him, momentarily making him stumble and panic, though he relaxed instantly again.

"Geez, Percy, give me a warning before jumping me like that, will you? You almost gave me a heart attack." He pointed out and felt Percy stilling for a moment, before he stroked over Will's sides and pressed his lips against his cheek.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly, genuinely, but Will shook his head and patted his arm, letting him know it was okay.

Drew appeared in front of them, rambling something about shoe sizes as she went down in front of Will, momentarily confusing the hell out of him before he realized she wanted him to take off his socks and try on her heels.

Once they got a fitting pair, Percy let Will guide him and his wobbly legs through the room, much to the amusement of their friends, and the dumbfounded looks of his boyfriends.

"See? We're awesome. You're doing pretty good for your first time, Percy." He reassured his boyfriend, even though he was still clutching him with one arm and lifting his dress with the other, his expression one of utmost regret and fear of falling.

"How do people walk in these?! They are horrible, my whole balance is off! How do _you_ walk in those?! _How do you even know how to walk in these_?!" His boyfriend wailed, nearly breaking his ankle when he stumbled, but Will made sure to keep a firm grip on him.

"The Apollo cabin and the Hermes cabin are the main hosts for these games, Percy. I have participated in enough to know my way around any sort of shoe or clothing. Plus, Leah wanted to learn dancing in heels, but felt stupid being the only one wearing them, so I had to put some on every here and there, too." He told him with a small shrug, and Percy instantly fell silent, listening rather attentively, even though it was far from interesting or important.

"This isn't even really a punishment for Percy." Cecil sulked, which had Percy shooting him a dark look that made Will wonder whether those two had any issues with each other, too.

He _had_ noticed before Percy seemed unusually brisk with Cecil, after all.

"Suck it up. Drew, get ready for your doom. I must avenge my boyfriend and return his honor or whatever it's called." Percy announced and Will snorted out a small laugh as Nico buried his face in his hands, Jason's dress still covering his lap like a puffy blanket.

"You do that – but remember I'll be able to take down your 'sun-bug' right after."

Great, Will was _so_ looking forward to that.

"That's unfair!" Percy immediately whined.

Yes, this was surely going to be a fun game.

...

"Okay! Jason, Truth or Dare? Please pick Dare."

"Truth." Jason immediately replied, stretching his back now that he was finally out of that horrendous dress.

Seriously, nobody had pointed out 'three rounds' meant _they_ had to be the ones asked/dared three times, so it had taken _forever_ to get out of this confinement.

Now only Will was left, though he seemed perfectly fine in his dress and probably wouldn't even take it off when the time came – which Jason wouldn't mind whatsoever.

Then again, he'd rather take the dress than whatever their friends were thinking of, because the game was progressively getting more and more…weird.

So far, the most disturbing thing in Jason's opinion had been Piper's dare to give Leo a 'footjob' (aka the Aphrodite cabin's idea of a _back massage_ done by trampling over a person's back), which had ended with her smacking Leo's face with her foot after a rather lewd and definitely unnecessary comment.

Oh yeah, and most of the guys in this room were by now shirtless, while most of the girls had to put on special pieces of clothing or pajamas or apply make-up blindly.

It sounded innocent, but the commentary was anything but, and now it was beginning to show in the rest of the game as well – especially the dares, with people kissing or imitating the strangest (and in Jason's opinion – _private_ ) things.

"Who would you kiss in this room, boyfriends excluded?" Maya asked him after a heated, hissed discussion with her fellow half-siblings, looking disturbingly smug.

Jason wasn't impressed.

"You can't say 'nobody' either. Just pick somebody." She added just as he had been about to reply, and he closed his mouth again, frowning to himself as he looked around the room.

He didn't _want_ to kiss anybody other than his boyfriends, though.

He was _demisexual_ , how many times would he have to say that?

Jason glanced sideways at Will when he felt him shifting, just to see him glowering at Piper darkly.

Jason's frown intensified.

He looked around at Nico and Percy, but Percy was still sulking about the 'Have you ever peed into a pool?'-question he had gotten earlier, which he had first replied to with an indignant ' _Fuck you_!', just to add a sheepish 'Yes…' after a beat of silence, much to the amusement of everybody else.

Nico, however, was glowering at Leo, which threw Jason off even more than Will's scowl.

He knew _Will_ seemed jealous rather easily, but _Nico_ , too?

Plus, _why Leo_?!

"Annabeth." He blurted, and his boyfriends' heads shot around, staring at him in stunned horror while all noise around them _died_.

"What?" He asked, looking from his boyfriends to their friends and to Annabeth, who looked at him with a nearly reproachful look – which he was glad for, since that meant nobody would be able to _dare_ them to kiss at any later point, unless they wanted Jason dead.

" _Annabeth_?!" Jason couldn't even say _who_ spoke, because it seemed like _everyone_ was asking him this in varying levels of intensity and shock, but he merely shrugged.

"Yeah, Annabeth. A kiss on the cheek. For putting up with all your nonsense." He deadpanned, and the silence lasted for another whole minute before people either complained or laughed.

Luckily, his boyfriends were part of the laughing ones, so at least he wouldn't have to reassure them he was _not_ interested in Annabeth in any sort of way.

"Nice safe, Jason." Will commented wryly, but Jason merely reached out and ruffled through his hair, which sent some hairclips flying that he had been dared to put on earlier.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not romantically or sexually interested in anybody in this room other than my three wonderful boyfriends, so there's no scenario I can think of that could have possibly been problematic." He retorted, and judging by the way Will's freckles started glowing as he looked away guiltily, his message was well received.

"So, Leo. Truth or Dare?" He then asked, returning his focus to the game once more.

"Why are you always picking me?" Leo immediately complained, but since he had been the one who had asked Percy about the pool-thing, he deserved it.

The game continued with Leo wailing loudly about having to dance the Macarena in the middle of the room and both the Aphrodite as well as the Apollo kids yelling at him for doing it wrong – which led to everything being even more of a mess than before, and Will saved the cherries that Nico immediately stole from him and passed to Jason with the order to keep them away from Will.

Those two.

If Jason didn't know better, he'd think they were both trying to stop each other from finding an excuse to leave.

But he did know better, so he knew they'd never abandon Percy and him here, and they did seem to enjoy themselves when they weren't confronted with awkward or embarrassing questions/dares.

"Nico, Truth or Dare!" Alec yelled across the room, though Jason didn't know how it had suddenly become his turn.

"Truth!" Nico yelled back over the noise of laughter and cries and people toppling over each other as part tried to settle down again, while the rest still tried their own versions of the Macarena dance.

Good thing Jason didn't even know how the dance went – it had simply been the first term he remembered reading when Percy and Will had been searching through the internet for dance videos.

"Rough or gentle sex?!" Alec yelled, and the other Apollo kids immediately let out their trademark 'Ooooh~' again, which had Jason bury his face in his hands, while Nico's face turned beet-red in a heartbeat.

"Fuck you, Alec! You're my least favorite brother now!" Will called across the room as Nico mumbled something under his breath awkwardly and was staring at the ground with greatest interest.

"Will, quiet, I can't hear your boyfriend! Nico, what?"

"NO PREFERENCE!" Nico _yelled_ through the room, then wailed right after and buried his face in his hands, while the Apollo kids started whooping.

"You're all perverts!" Will exclaimed, throwing his arms up and glowering at his traitorous siblings, though Jason also caught him grinning to himself a moment later when he took a sip of his water.

"You're all just so nosy because you can't get laid." His blonde added under his breath, and judging by the offended gasps all throughout the room, his siblings had caught that.

"Annabeth!" Nico exclaimed loudly, startling Jason as well as most of the other people around them, though Annabeth didn't even blink an eye, sitting next to her girlfriend the same way she had done the entirety of the game so far and waiting for the few questions or innocent dares thrown her way.

"Dare. Bring it on, Nico." She dared him unimpressed as she sipped on her drink, but her demeanor changed instantly when Nico's expression became determined.

"I dare you not to pick Will for the rest of the game."

Jason's eyebrows shot up, wondering what was up with _that_ , though he also noticed Will's eyes widening in surprise, while Annabeth's eyes narrowed as she studied them.

She didn't reply for a long moment, but then she put down her glass and nodded.

"Fine, I won't."

Instead, she turned towards her girlfriend and dared her to give her a kiss, and Piper picked one of her siblings next.

What had that been about?

Jason looked towards Percy at a loss, but Percy only shrugged and shot him a look that said he didn't know anything, either.

"WILL!" Kayla was the next to yell, and Jason gave up trying to follow the game, because it was obvious they shot questions and dares around way too fast.

"Dare!" Will declared with an expression as if he was about to go to war, and the next moment, Jason was pretty sure _he would_.

" _Lap dance time_!" Kayla yelled and threw her arms up, while the rest of the cabin cheered loudly and somebody scrambled off to get some music playing.

Wait, what?

"Lap dance _who_?!" Will asked indignantly as he motioned with his arms, looking _offended_ , though Jason's head was still spinning with the realization that Will seemed to actually _know_ _how to lap dance_.

Did Jason even _want_ to know?

…Yes, yes he did.

Seriously, what was there that Will _couldn't_ do?!

"Me! Me! I'm free! I volunteer! Pick me!" Percy immediately started, bouncing where he sat and waving his arm around frantically, an eager, pleading look on his face.

Kayla only gave him a long, blank look.

Then, she smiled brightly at Jason.

"Jason! Will, I dare you to do one lap dance for _him_."

"Nooooo!" Percy wailed and let himself fall backwards onto the ground, wailing and moving his arms over his face in despair.

Oh _please_.

There was no actual way Will would really-…

"Eh, fine. I mean, I'm totally not in the mood, and that song is absolute shit, so better don't expect too much, guys. Also: Kayla, you're my least favorite sister now. I'm going to remember that."

Jason stared at his boyfriend in disbelief as Will got up and brushed off his dress nonchalantly, making a face at his siblings before motioning for Jason to get up, since one of the Aphrodite girls had brought a chair.

Wait, for real?

"At least have the decency to shut up if I'm already doing this! I can't get into the right mindset with you all blabbering around!" Will exclaimed indignantly and stomped his foot, which ironically enough made people immediately quieten down.

Amazing.

Now, could anybody explain to Jason what exactly was going on?

Was this another one of those terms the Aphrodite/Apollo cabin had changed up, like the 'footjob' earlier?

Jason was almost done convincing himself that _had_ to be the case – when Kayla changed to song to something slow and…definitely insinuating.

It…it could still mean something different…

"Dim the lights! Leo, your call!" Cecil put in with a shit-eating grin, but Leo was already on it by the looks of it, his hands seeming to fly around whatever it was he was building, before the Apollo kids hoisted him up in record speed for him to push his creation over the cabin lights.

The next moment, the lights were not only dimmed, they also changed color, and Jason found himself gulping as his eyes settled back on Will, who was standing in front of him with an expression that both said 'I'm so sorry' as well as 'I'll make sure you like it'.

"Okay, get ready! Five minutes of lap dance. Kids, watch closely and learn."

What?

Wait, _what_?

"Relax, babe." Will breathed as he leaned forward to almost kiss him.

But then, he didn't, instead pulling back and…was he posing?

Jason had no idea.

Jason was a bit overwhelmed right now, and he still didn't know what exactly was happening.

The noise had died down immensely, making the music and his own breathing stand out much more than necessary, his eyes glued to his boyfriend as Will started shamelessly rolling his hips, his hands to the left and right of Jason on the backrest of the chair.

Well, damn.

Apparently, a lap dance _really_ meant a lap dance.

Will's eyes were dark and heavy-lidded, his body moving fluidly as he came closer and moved away again, arching his back a little here, and spreading his legs to nearly sink to the floor there.

It was horrible that the light was the way it was, because it prevented Jason to see Will's skin through the transparent parts of the dress.

It was also horrible because it shone in a way that made not-transparent parts more transparent and showed off Will's figure even better than necessary.

Jason cursed whoever had dared Will in lingerie earlier, because he'd have felt much safer about this if his boyfriend was still wearing some random, funny boxer shorts.

Though it now made him wonder just _what_ it was he was wearing beneath…

Gods, _bad_ thoughts!

Will turned his back to him with his hands on his knees, rolling his hips agonizingly slowly to agonizingly slow music, and Jason tried very hard to keep his eyes on Will's face, though it was a task that was getting more and more difficult per second.

Seriously though, _when had Will learned this_?

And _why_?

Will's body moved as if he had never done anything but this his whole life, and before Jason could blink, his boyfriend was on the floor, spreading his legs for him and running his hands up and down his own body, looking at him as if Jason was his world.

 _That_ was very nice underwear, more cute than sexy and definitely (sadly) not see-through, but absolutely fitting, anyways.

A part of Jason wanted to jump up, pick him off the ground and take him back to their cabin, far away from prying eyes so he could keep him to himself.

But he was still too overly aware of the fact this was just a dare, so he settled for swallowing thickly and watching as Will arched his back and pushed his hips off the ground, still all slow and sensual.

Jason swallowed again.

Then Will turned around and kneeled with his back to Jason, still rolling his hips every here and there, his hands so…handsy.

Will shot him a knowing, gleeful look and moved to get up – and Jason wasn't sure what it was, but Will's movements did things for him they absolutely shouldn't have, not in this context, and not with people watching.

Will moved to his side, then behind him, then he was in front of him again, and Jason wanted to reach out, wanted to catch him, wanted to pull him close and get him to stay, but then, without warning, the music suddenly changed.

Jason jumped slightly, alarmed to hear the beginning of a much faster and by far _not_ suitable song for this sort of thing – which had to mean it was over, this was over, Will was…apparently not done, actually.

Jason wanted to swallow, but his mouth had gone disturbingly dry as he watched his boyfriend simply picking up in speed and changing his dance to a more aggressive one, rolling his hips right at Jason's side before somewhat humping the air, apparently completely unbothered by the change in music.

He heard Kayla cursing and fumbling with something, but then Alec told her to leave the song on – and Jason partly agreed, because _damn_ , though he also cursed the change, since it confronted him with _even more_ , and he was a weak man.

Will was leaning closer again, now nearly climbing onto his lap as he alternated between rolling and thrusting his hips, though he never allowed their bodies to connect.

On one side, Jason was grateful for that, since it kept him from losing control.

On the other side, he wanted nothing more than to feel Will against him. Right here. Right now.

The pace of the song picked up and so did Will, his movements quick and sharp, but still fluid and in complete sync with the song, and Jason's mouth decided to miraculously water again, his hands itching to touch.

But he controlled himself.

At least until Will was back hovering over his lap with his lips inches away from Jason's – then he _did_ grab him and pull him onto him, pressing their lips together hungrily as he decided the rest of the world could fuck off.

There were surprised yelps, loud whoops, some groans and _a lot_ of cheering, but all that mattered was that Will was kissing back, smirking against his lips as he rocked his hips a few more times just for Jason.

"Liked that?" His boyfriend asked him cheekily, but Jason only growled in reply.

"Will." Nico's voice sounded next to them, and they both pulled away to look around at their boyfriend, who was staring at them with the same blank look as earlier.

"Yes?" Will asked, sounding the tiniest bit uncertain as he climbed off Jason's lap with a last wink into his direction – then he was pulled down by the collar of his dress so Nico could whisper something into his ear.

Jason didn't necessarily _want_ to overhear that, but…well, he was kind of close, and kind of curious, so…

"Teach. Me. That."

"Oh, _hell no_." Jason immediately cut in, but all that did was make Will laugh heartily with a red face and glowing freckles, while Nico _glowered_ at him.

"Yes. You're going down." Nico stated darkly, looking determined and challenging and…hot…

Well, _damn_.

"Okay." Jason replied meekly, which made Will laugh even louder as he moved over to Percy, who wasted no time in lamenting about not having known Will could do that and that he wanted the same thing – while also complimenting Will a hundred times in one sentence, which made Jason guiltily realize _he_ hadn't said a single thing about Will's performance.

"Seems like _somebody_ enjoyed the show, huh?" Drew drawled next to him, but Nico hissed at her immediately, before grabbing him by the hand and dragging him back over to the guys, not giving him a chance to actually reply – though he wouldn't have known what to say, anyways.

"Alec, you little shit, don't think I didn't notice it was you who changed the song. You're up next, and since you gotta pick Dare, get ready to sing that very song without music to accompany you." Will called into the room and his brother immediately wailed miserably, trying to find a way out, though when Annabeth asked whether he rather wanted the penalty, he gave in.

Good. He deserved that.

Same as Jason deserved a break.

And a long, hot, relaxing bath.

Preferably with his boyfriends.

Unfortunately, there would be no chance for that for a long, long time.

...

"Okay, Percy: Give Nico a foot massage." Piper said with a wave of her hand, and Nico died a little on the inside.

No, not a foot massage!

"Why always me?" He asked miserably as he turned towards his boyfriend, who shot him an apologetic look but didn't ask for penalty, that traitor, instead moving closer and waiting for him to let him at his feet.

Did he have to?

"What? That's fairly innocent, if I might say so." Piper mused, seeming genuinely bewildered – and Nico guessed he couldn't blame her.

Not everybody had super sensitive feet, after all.

He sighed and let himself fall back without even looking, knowing Will would catch him and keep him safe – which he did, moving him to lay his head into his lap and stroking through his hair, while Nico stretched out his foot with absolutely no grace whatsoever.

Not that anybody cared.

Sure, a few kids were snickering, and he was _pretty sure_ somebody had a camera in here somewhere, because he kept hearing a faint clicking that could _not_ be Leo, since their mechanic currently had his fingers stuck in a very stubborn and clearly tempered with Chinese finger cuff that was apparent revenge for some sort of prank Leo had pulled on Frank (or something along those lines, anyways).

Percy took his foot, but at least let him wear his sock, though that proved to be no protection whatsoever from the rather nice sensations flooding through him a moment later, when Percy's fingers worked along the sole of his foot.

Why did Nico have to be the one with the foot kink? He didn't even _have_ a foot kink!

 _He didn't even like feet_!

Well, at least he couldn't say he had ever particularly _cared_ for feet.

Percy continued his massage gently, and Nico's eyes fell shut.

Yeah, well, okay, that felt kind of good.

In fact, that felt _very_ good.

Will kept stroking through his hair gently, leaning over him ever so faintly and hiding him from view more as Nico felt himself beginning to pant softly, though he tried to keep it down.

Piper let out a startled 'Oh.', but Nico didn't open his eyes to check whether that was because she realized what this sort of thing did for Nico, or whether it was entirely unrelated to this.

Instead, he moved his arm to cover his face, leaning into Will's touch as he tried to keep his foot steady, even though his body was slowly beginning to tremble.

Then, Percy's fingers brushed over _that_ spot, and Nico flinched, biting his lip hard to suppress a moan as Will gave his hair a tug to distract him.

Percy immediately dropped his foot as if stung.

"Okay, there we go. Let's see…Mitchell, Truth or Dare?" Percy called, not even giving anybody a chance to complain or insist on more, which Nico was eternally grateful for as he slumped back into Will's lap like a bag of potatoes.

"You know, we should totally make use of that sometime." Will mused with a hint of amusement in his voice, and Nico didn't have to open his eyes for his hand to find Will's forehead and flick it.

"Forget it."

"It would make you feel so good, though." Will purred as he leaned over him to give him an awkward peck on the lips, but Nico shook his head vehemently.

"No way. It's embarrassing." He stated, though if he was being honest with himself, he kind of _was_ curious as to how it would actually feel like to 'make use of that'.

Then again, Nico wished they had more sex to begin with, so there was that.

"Yo, Will, Truth or Dare?" An Aphrodite girl asked, and Nico guessed he should pay more attention to the game.

"Dare."

"Fifty kisses with Nico."

Seriously? Did they somehow have it out for him now?

Earlier, he had thought they were after Jason, since he had been bombarded with asks and dares the moment that _lap dance_ had been over.

Seriously, _what the hell_?!

Will's body had moved like… _gods_ , that had been amazing.

Nico wanted to be able to do that, too.

Which…was probably not exactly what he should have been aiming for, since both Percy and Jason had more acted as if they wanted to be on the receiving end for this – and Nico did, too, but he also wanted to be the one turning them into that panting mess Will had made of Jason in a matter of minutes, all without even touching him.

Yes, Nico definitely wanted to know that.

Nico was torn out of his pouting when Will snickered and nudged him, so he grumbled and sat up again to follow up on their dare, trying to ignore the renewed whooping around them.

One would assume they had never seen them kissing before.

Will stroked through his hair again to draw his attention to him, then their lips met once, twice, three times…

"Four." "Five." "Six."

"Shut up, guys, we're perfectly capable of counting, ourselves." Will huffed in annoyance, causing his siblings to snicker and make gross kissing sounds as people around them told them to 'keep going at it'.

Idiots. The lot of them.

Nico tugged Will back by his shirt, partly disappointed and partly relieved he wasn't wearing that dress anymore.

That had certainly been something Nico hadn't expected to ever see Will in, though it was also something he was pretty sure he wouldn't mind seeing again – as long as Nico would never have to wear that sorry excuse of a dress again they had given him.

Their lips met again, and it was kind of fun to have Will pecking his lips over and over again with both of them trying to keep count – until their kisses started deepening somewhere between seventeen and twenty-five.

Then, it got progressively more difficult to keep count, since it became harder to tell when one kiss ended and another one began as Nico let himself fall backwards, glad when Percy was the one catching him this time, though Will's hand shot to the back of his head, anyways – just to keep it there in order to press their lips together more insistently.

The world around them turned into a blur, but Nico stopped caring as he tilted his head and let their tongues dance more than maybe necessary.

He loved kissing Will.

He loved kissing his boyfriends.

He wanted _more_.

"Fifty. Guys, you're done." Percy's words mercilessly invaded his little bubble of bliss and Nico broke away from Will with a dark scowl.

Screw this freaking game!

Screw the flipping sleepover!

Will snorted and gave him a peck on the nose, but Nico merely huffed, not even trying to mask his annoyance at this point.

He was tired, he was horny, he had just gotten his feet molested by Percy and kissed senseless by Will.

What was next?

Nico pointedly ignored everybody and everything around him, tugging on his shirt and pushing the potato chips out of Percy's reach 'by accident', before stuffing his face with cherries while sulking.

"Jason, Truth or Dare?" Somebody asked, but he absolutely _didn't_ care.

"Dare…" Jason mumbled hesitantly, but Nico didn't care about that, either, instead grumbling to himself when he realized the bowl of cherries had no cherries anymore, making it an absolutely useless bowl to Nico.

He was about to curse this bowl for everything that was going wrong in his life right now, but then, the Fates decided to one-up even that.

"Five minutes in heaven with Nico. Off to the bathroom with you two. Be happy we don't have a big enough closet for you two."

Maybe he shouldn't have tempted the Fates by asking what came next.

Or maybe he simply shouldn't have agreed with Annabeth to have this sleepover in the first place.

"Hey, why Nico? Why not Will or me?" Percy instantly complained, but nobody seemed to care as the room broke into giggles and wolf-whistles again.

 _Seriously_?

"Nico?" Jason asked reluctantly, probably trying to see whether he had to call for penalty, or whether Nico could be moved to comply.

Five minutes in heaven, huh?

Well, _fine_.

"Sure, let's go." He stated and got up, catching sight of Will shooting him a concerned look.

Oh wait…

He had promised to stay by his side, hadn't he?

"Percy, watch over Will while I'm gone." He ordered, much to Percy's and Will's surprise, though Percy immediately nodded and shifted closer to Will, wrapping an arm around him and looking around with a serious expression, as if expecting a surprise attack any moment now.

There.

Satisfied with himself for keeping his word even though his boyfriends were the worst teases in the world, he marched off to the bathroom with Jason in tow, absolutely not giving a damn about what the people around them were saying or hinting at.

"Don't make a mess!" Alec and Cecil called after them, but all Nico did was slam the door shut and lock it.

"We don't actually have to-…" Jason started, but Nico didn't let him finish, pushing him back against the door and leaning up to press their lips together.

"You're still turned on from the dare with Percy licking down your neck to the waistband of your boxer shorts, and you know it." He deadpanned quietly, knowing full well he was right, no matter how much Jason might pretend to be unaffected.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked, sounding mildly concerned, though he let Nico push against him freely and returned his kisses without complaint.

"Oh, _splendid_. Horny, desperate, but absolutely _fine_."

Will's definition of fine, anyways.

Jason made a noncommittal sound, then grabbed his arms and flipped them over so Nico's back hit the wall next to the door.

"So, you want to make out for five minutes and then get interrupted again?" He asked between mashing their lips together hungrily, and Nico hated that he knew what Jason was trying to say, same as he hated that Jason was right.

"I want to have more sex." Nico blurted, then froze, his eyes widening as his hands slapped over his mouth.

Oh shit.

Oh no, please, he had _not_ just said that out loud…

As much as he was working on being more vocal about things he wanted and whatnot, this wasn't something he wanted to yell to the world, especially not out of nowhere.

"Nico?" Jason asked, frowning slightly as he took in his expression, but Nico hurriedly looked away and shook his head.

"Nothing. Kiss me again."

Jason gave him nothing more than a peck before pulling back again.

"Nico…"

"Not here, Jason." Nico insisted, because his sexual frustration was _not_ something he wanted to discuss in the bathroom of the Aphrodite cabin.

"Okay. Can I kiss you again?" Jason asked softly, allowing Nico to relax against the tiles again as he nodded and tipped his head backwards so Jason could lean back down to ravish his lips.

He loved kissing Jason.

It still sent those little jolts through him each and every single time.

By now, he was pretty sure that was a Jupiter/Zeus thing, because he didn't get that with either Will or Percy.

Jason was such a gentle kisser by times, though.

Nico pushed against him more insistently to show he would be perfectly okay with more, but Jason remained adamant, muttering something about a lack of time under his breath before he gave him a series of pecks that turned back into those rather nice, languid kisses with their tongues moving against each other slowly.

Yes, Jason was the master of slow kisses.

Nico still whined, anyways.

"Later, babe. I promise."

" _Now._ " Nico insisted stubbornly, then decided to blame the late hour for his undoubtedly childish behavior.

Jason gave him a few pecks again, then put their foreheads together, his hands stroking along Nico's sides soothingly.

"Nico, if I could, I _would_ , but I'm pretty sure our time is up already."

Yeah, well, Nico didn't _care_ , okay?

Jason raised an eyebrow, daring him to complain, and Nico huffed upset, though he kept quiet and nodded reluctantly.

"Okay. Now…" Jason started, then moved to the side of Nico's neck, which momentarily confused him, though he didn't mind one bit.

That is, until Jason _blew a freaking raspberry_ _on his skin_.

" _Jason_!" He exclaimed loudly and in utmost disbelief, which instantly had at least three people knocking on the door rapidly and asking just _what_ was happening in there – accompanied by voices asking for video footage, and others yelling that they were _not_ allowed to make a mess in there.

But Nico didn't care, pushing a laughing Jason away from him as he let out another indignant sound and stomped over to the door, cursing his boyfriend and their 'friends' (more like _fiends_ at this point, really, those freaking _dicks_!) in his best Italian as he ripped the door open and marched outside, past everybody nearly leaping out of his way.

"What happened?" "That was quick." "What did you do in there?"

Nico ignored the lot of them, instead storming over to Will and Percy, who were sitting exactly where they had left them and looked over at him in question and confusion.

"He blew a freaking raspberry on my neck!" Nico complained, pointing at that _absolute tease_ that was walking out of the bathroom with his hands in his pockets and a pleased grin on his face.

Horrible human being!

The cabin erupted into laughter, which didn't make Nico feel any better, either.

At least Percy and Will didn't laugh, instead shooting each other telling looks before reaching out to tug him between them.

"Aww, I'm sure he didn't mean to upset you, Neeks." Will reasoned immediately, but Nico didn't want to hear it.

He already knew.

Jason had 'helped' him, alright?

By completely ruining his mood for sex and thus fixing his problem in less than a minute.

Curse that gentle giant for being…well, himself.

"Hey Nico, Truth or Dare?" Somebody asked him, though he had no idea how it could possibly be time for his turn _again_.

"Truth." He retorted with a huff, figuring that, after _this_ , nothing would be able to get to him anymore.

Yes, he must have finally reached his limit.

He was going to just take whatever these heathens threw at him.

"Tell us your best wet dream or sexual fantasy."

Nico groaned loudly and let himself fall back onto the floor, half-heartedly trying to hide under the pillow, though he knew it had to look more as if he was trying to suffocate himself.

Okay, he had been _wrong_ …

Nico groaned again.

...

"Jason, Truth or Dare?" Piper asked amused, and Percy looked at his boyfriend curiously, stroking through Nico's hair as his boyfriend had buried his face at his thigh ever since finally getting out of the ' _Bin of Shame'_ – which he had been in after not replying to the earlier question, nor acknowledging anything anybody had said to him in terms of penalty.

(Not that Percy could blame him – _he_ wouldn't have wanted to tell the world _that_ , either, though it did make him wonder about possible 'dreams' or 'fantasies' Nico might have.)

"Dare." Jason said with a shrug, apparently trusting her not to pull something weird on them again.

"Sweet. Imitate an animal of your choice." She dared him, and Percy guessed he had been right in placing his trust in her.

That was pretty harmless, why didn't Percy ever get any dares like that?

He couldn't even get _Truth's_ like that!

Instead, he had to suffer through questions like 'What's the most embarrassing thing you've done during sex', which had led to him having to dust the room shirtless and with his pants unzipped as penalty, because there was _no way_ he was going to tell _anybody_ about that messed up bathroom time with Nico.

Then again, Jason had been the one who had gotten the question 'Do you ever have any fantasies about anybody other than your boyfriends?', which Percy was pretty sure had squicked Jason quite a bit, especially since he had visibly shuddered and his nearly disgusted 'No!' had been rather obvious as well.

So, yeah, Percy guessed they all had their good and bad moments in this never-ending game.

Annabeth had mentioned there actually _was_ an end at some point, but they had yet to see it.

He looked back at Jason, kind of waiting for him to actually 'act like an animal', but he just sat there and looked off into space, his hand rising ever so slowly to fix his glasses in slow motion.

For a long moment, there was silence – or at least as much silence as there could be in a room full of people.

"Oh gods, he's _a sloth_." Will then groaned and slapped his hand to his face, while Jason tried very poorly to conceal his shit-eating grin.

While half the room erupted into laughter and indignant exclamations of 'Nooo, _why_?! You could have been _anything_!', the other half erupted into cheers and exclamations of 'Jason, you're my hero!'.

Percy agreed with the latter statement, because he'd have never thought of a _sloth_ out of nowhere.

He'd have probably done a poor impression of a dog and slobbered all over Nico's face just for the hell of it.

Jason continued making super slow movements, from fixing his glasses to rubbing his neck to reaching out to poke Percy's nose – which Percy felt extremely offended by, since he should have totally seen it coming.

In fact, he _had_ seen it coming, but hadn't realized Jason's intent until it had been too late.

"Okay, done. Percy, Truth or Dare?" Jason then announced and dropped his superb imitation of a sloth (which seemed more and more fitting the more Percy thought of this morning) in favor of turning towards him.

Percy blinked, momentarily thrown off at Jason asking _him_.

They had sort of avoided that so far to give each other at least some sort of break.

"Truth?" He phrased it more like a question, uncertain what Jason wanted from him, but Jason didn't seem to have any ulterior motive, instead giving a small nod and a smile, before rubbing his neck thoughtfully.

"Let's see…what's your favorite thing about your boyfriends?" He then asked with a little wink and a cheeky grin, and Percy huffed out a small laugh.

Seriously?

What sort of question was that?

"Wow, I think you're just trying to fish for compliments, Jason. Well, let's see…where to start…" He mused, tapping his finger against his lips as he looked down at Nico, who was peeking up at him with one eye curiously, though he immediately hid his face again and continued his act of being dead.

"My favorite thing about Nico…I think it's those moments when he's confident in himself and doesn't care what others think anymore. Though I also love it when he acts all tough and mighty, just to then blush so adorably." He stated with a grin, and heard Nico huff indignantly, which didn't make his act any more believable, but proved it all over again how adorable he was.

Percy's eyes hushed to Will, who was sitting next to him with his hand still clasping Nico's, his bright blue eyes fixed on Percy with a soft, yet also uncertain look, as if he wasn't sure what to expect.

"For Will, it's definitely when he smiles all brightly and it gets to that point where he's so happy his freckles start glowing. I can never get enough of that. Especially when I know I'm the one responsible for it." He said with a cheeky grin and watched with greatest satisfaction how Will's face turned red, his freckles promptly glowing faintly as he nudged Percy's arm with an incoherent mumble.

See? This was exactly what he meant.

Percy grinned to himself and returned his attention to Jason, who was gazing at him with that soft, gentle look on his face that always made Percy's heart beat a little faster.

"And my favorite thing about you is when you look at me with _that one look_ on your face, the one that says I'm the most important person in your life. I don't know. It simply…feels really nice." He admitted, thinking of this morning again, when he had laid on top of Jason and they had just enjoyed each other's company, with Jason occasionally giving him that very look as he stroked through his hair.

It was undoubtedly cheesy, but Percy was a sucker for physical contact and the knowledge he was wanted and loved.

There was a chorus of ' _Aww_!'-s emanating from their present company, while Jason looked at him momentarily surprised, before smiling again and poking his nose once more.

"What can I say? I simply lo-…"

"That was so freaking sappy, I can't take it!" One of the Aphrodite girls exclaimed loudly and started sobbing for reasons unknown to Percy, while two more kids shuffled closer and patted her back in consolation.

"Oh wow, Percy, now you make people cry. Shame on you." Annabeth pointed out with an unimpressed shake of her head, though he saw her lips twitching a moment later as she told them to take it to the bathroom.

"What? I was just being honest!" Percy insisted indignantly.

"He was." Alec agreed while clutching his chest dramatically like a wounded man, and Percy was tempted to throw the empty cherry bowl at him.

"Dude, Percy is almost as sappy as Jason is, this is _nothing_ in comparison." Will remarked amused, which resulted in way too many disbelieving gasps.

Oh wow.

Seriously, Percy was pretty sure people were just so overly emotional right now because it was already shortly past midnight, and they were undoubtedly dead tired – especially the Apollo kids, though their numbers had greatly reduced already, anyways, with most of them snoring and curled up around their pillows.

"I just answered the question. What were you expecting?" He asked bewildered, and Annabeth let out a small chuckle.

"Well, _other_ people talk about things like body parts or stuff like kisses or touches or whatnot when asked something like that. Nobody expected you to go all philosophical and start raving about your sweethearts."

Oh…

Percy felt his ears heating, but refused to let it show.

"Excuse you, but I _always_ rave about my sweethearts."

"That you do." Will agreed, the same moment Jason nodded quietly.

Percy wasn't sure whether to point at them for proof, or scowl at them for agreeing so easily.

"Alright, well, what's _your_ favorite thing about Piper, then?" He asked instead, which for whatever reason made Will chuckle next to him, though he pointedly ignored that.

"Her wit and her eyes." Annabeth replied without hesitation, seeming as amused as Will as she turned towards Kayla.

"Truth or Dare?"

Wait, why was it _her_ turn-…oh…

Percy grumbled under his breath as he belatedly realized his mistake, but it wasn't as if he had really had any plans for anybody, so it didn't make much of a difference.

He felt a hand moving through his hair and looked around at Jason with a smirk, who smiled right back at him and leaned forward to peck him on the lips, though that made Nico grumble at the movement, so Percy guessed this was all he'd get for now.

At his reproachful glance downwards, he found Nico's eyes gleaming up at him with mirth.

"If I have to suffer, so do you."

Whoa.

So mean.

"Will, Nico is mistreating me." He complained immediately, and Nico groaned and bit his thigh, while Will acted deaf.

"Hm? What? Sorry, can't hear you. There's something _super important_ happening over there."

Percy wailed indignantly – partly because of Will, because _what,_ and partly because of Nico, because _why_?!

"Jason, save me!" He lamented, but Jason merely patted his head.

"You don't really want to be saved, though."

Percy pouted, staring off into space and wondering how he deserved _that_.

"I'll get you back for that. All of you. Just you wait."

"Yeah, right." Was all his boyfriends replied, and Percy was _offended_ , okay?

"That's it. Next time you get a horrible Dare or something, I'm not gonna come to your rescue, forget it." He insisted, though he knew full well it had mostly been Will jumping to their rescue over and over again throughout the game.

"Hey, Will, Truth or Dare?" Leo called over, and Percy gestured with his hands to emphasize his point.

Whatever would come now, he so wouldn't help.

Would serve them all right.

Yes. Absolutely.

"Truth." Will replied with a smirk and a shrug, letting Percy know he didn't care.

"Ooh, how about this: What's your guilty pleasure?" Leo asked and wiggled his eyebrows – and Percy wanted to throw his boyfriend a pointed look, but Will seemed unfazed, picking invisible dust off his shoulder.

"Watching my boyfriends sleep and mooching off their afterglows." He replied a moment later, giving even Percy pause.

First of all, how had he thought of that this quickly, and second of all, how could he just admit to that so openly?

Leo seemed as taken aback as Percy, though the rest of their friends didn't seem to care as they gave their trademark whooping and a few confused questions of 'How do you mooch off another person's afterglow?' that Will didn't reply to.

"That was fast." Jason pointed out what Percy thought, but Will merely shrugged again.

"Well, the question has been bouncing back and forth the past few rounds if you haven't noticed. Same as the Dares have turned to kisses and imitating favorite sex positions with others, so I'm happy I got this one instead."

For real?

How had Percy not noticed that?

Then again, with so many people still in the game, it was kind of difficult to follow each and every round, at least when he kept getting distracted by his boyfriends and the Truths/Dares they kept getting.

"Nobody is going to make you guys hump. You're young and in love and at least two of you are always glued together at any given point anyways, there's no way we're risking seeing too much in here now, thank you very much." Annabeth deadpanned as she made a sort of note on a little paper that had come from gods knew where.

If she had intended to insult them with that, she had failed, because all four of them breathed out sighs of relief.

"Thank the gods for that. All hail our lack of care when it comes to PDA. Now, Percy, Truth or Dare?" Will asked, and Percy sulked.

Why always _him_?!

"Truth." He insisted stubbornly, no matter if this made it his last Truth he could use.

"Aww, you don't trust me? There I'd have dared you to something sweet, like turning Nico on without touching him or the like. Shame." Will joked, and Nico huffed indignantly.

"That's not sweet, that's torture, darling." Nico pointed out, though Percy thought the idea wasn't half bad.

Would certainly make for an interesting Dare, he'd have to remember that for whenever the four of them might play again.

 _If_ they ever played again.

Then again, there wasn't really any need for it, since they could already ask each other anything and 'dare' each other to a variety of things just fine.

Especially when it came to Jason and him…

"What's your biggest turn-off?" Will asked out of nowhere, and Percy blinked at him in confusion for a long moment, not quite following.

"Shouldn't you already know that?" Somebody called, but Will waved them off, his gaze oddly curious.

Then again, it was a difficult question.

Percy wasn't quite sure, himself, to be honest.

It wasn't as if he absolutely _loved_ everything there was, he didn't get turned on by anything and everything, no matter how much it might seem that way.

It was simply the fact that he had his guys now and that _they_ were the ones doing those things that made it special and made it something Percy liked and enjoyed and reacted to.

Percy hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his nose as he pondered the question some more.

"I guess…if my partner isn't into it? Or if you just go along with it without really wanting to? That would be a turn-off, definitely." He mused at last, pretty satisfied with himself for figuring that out, though his boyfriends neither seemed surprised nor impressed, instead shooting each other pointed, telling looks.

"Figured as much. I was just wondering whether there _was_ anything you didn't like, like scratching, teeth on dick…" Will shrugged but was cut off in his elaborations by half the room hissing and the other half giggling and teasing, while Nico shivered and Jason rolled his eyes.

"Nah, I'm good. Do as you wish, babe, I'm all yours." Percy insisted with a crooked grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows, but Will's gaze only scanned over his expression for a fleeting moment before he looked away again.

"Oh, I know. _Later_ , Percy. Now, we've got a game to finish." Will retorted over the noise of cheering and whooping from around them, but Percy was more than pleased with that reply.

That was a promise, right?

Once the game was done – if that day ever came – they might be able to leave and have some…fun…by themselves, right?

After all, it had occurred to them halfway through the night that they _couldn't_ stay here, not with Will still getting his nightmares.

That was something nobody aside from Chiron, Annabeth, Piper and Clovis knew about after all, since not even the Apollo kids knew the full extent of Will's 'nightmares'.

(Not that _they_ knew the actual 'full extent' either, but…whatever.)

Percy happily nodded and turned to glower at Jason, ready to take his revenge.

"Jason, dearest, Truth or Dare?" He asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible, but Jason immediately looked at him with an expression that said he knew exactly what to expect.

"Truth. No way I'm picking dare with you, love."

What a shame. Percy would have loved to make him do something incredibly stupid and/or embarrassing.

"That's not gonna save you, Grace." He assured him with a grin, but then had to struggle to think of _any_ question, at all.

With a glance towards Annabeth, that problem solved itself though, and he snapped his fingers with a noise of triumph – which made Nico pinch his thigh and hiss at him to stay still.

(Cruel boyfriend.)

"What's _your_ favorite _body part_ on your boyfriends? Eh? Since you asked me, it's only fair you have to go through the same, and I'm even nice enough to elaborate." He wiggled his eyebrows and patted himself on the shoulder mentally, though Jason only shot him a long, unimpressed look – before he suddenly started grinning in a rather teasing way that got right under Percy's skin.

"Well, for you, it's most definitely your _squishy butt_." Jason stated, _loudly_ , and Percy's mouth fell open.

"How dare you-…with so many people…you… _my butt is_ not _squishy_!" He insisted, moving so much Nico pinched his thigh again before he sat up with an unhappy grumble, though Percy was too preoccupied trying to do some damage control and stopping half the room from snickering and giggling.

"It is _not_!"

"It is, Percy." Jason cut in with the same grin that now more infuriated him than anything else, and Percy was about to pick a fight (or attempt to, anyways), but then Jason already looked towards Will.

"For Will, it's his stomach."

His…stomach?

"How could you choose his stomach when his legs are _right there_ , Jason?" Percy asked in utmost disbelief, which had the other half of the room joining in on the snickering and gigging.

While Will looked unusually flustered and touched his stomach self-consciously, Jason shrugged.

"You asked for _my_ favorite body part on him, not yours."

But…but…

"With Nico, it's his lips." Jason finished, but Percy could get behind that much easier than Will's stomach.

After all, who would even _want_ to resist Nico's lips when he could kiss like that?

"Have you _not_ seen that dick…" Will breathed in disbelief, probably more to himself than the rest of the world, but Percy could hear him just fine – as could Nico, whose face promptly turned beet-red.

Jason coughed into his hand, but whether that was because he had heard as well, or whether this was his way of making people quieten down again, he didn't know.

"Kayla, Truth or Dare?" He asked, and Percy glanced around at the others, just to notice she was now the last awake Apollo kid left next to Will, since Alec and Austin were out cold on the ground now as well, Austin snoring and Alec drooling, their arms around each other.

Kind of sad, how drained all of them had become the moment the sun had completely disappeared.

Though they had certainly put out for quite a while, just as stubborn and determined as their favorite sun-bug.

"Alright, guys, this was the mark. You know the drill. Only twenty rounds left." Annabeth suddenly announced, and Percy, Jason and Nico exchanged surprised looks, while Will let out a sigh of relief.

" _Finally_. That took quite a while this time, huh?" The blonde stated dryly, while the rest of the room erupted in a blur of complaints and wails and pleas for more.

What…?

"There's a limit to how many rounds one game has. More often than not, the game ends before the mark anyways because everybody falls asleep before then, but this time, people stayed up much longer than expected, even if they asked and dared less than usual." Will explained when he noticed their confusion, and Annabeth nodded.

"Not surprised, though. Also, it mostly took this long to get here because everybody put so much effort in their dares. Especially those concerning you guys."

She sounded more amused than disdainful, but Percy still wondered whether she was upset with them for some reason.

She did seem a bit odd lately, and the thing with Will seemed weird, too, though he was pretty sure she wouldn't tell him even if he asked.

(Then again, neither would Will, probably. But Nico seemed to be onto that already, so he was confident the mystery would be solved sooner or later.)

Percy watched as Kayla gesticulated wildly as she described her absolute dream job to Jason, who seemed a bit taken aback at the passionate display, but listened attentively and nodded along politely, before she suddenly turned to an Aphrodite girl and dared her to grab a broom and dance the tango.

And thus, the game continued.

Percy smiled to himself, looking at all the tired faces around them and glancing sideways at Will, who also seemed rather drowsy, though he tried not to let it show, instead playing with Nico's hair and trying to animate him to use his lap as pillow.

But an end was in sight.

Less than twenty rounds.

Who knew, maybe they'd even get through this without any more embarrassing questions/dares thrown their way.

Though Percy thought it had been a rather fun night, anyways.

But yes, he was definitely looking forward to the end, so he could have his guys to himself once more.

Only a few more rounds.

...

"Nico, if you could have anybody in this room – except your boyfriends, of course – who would you want?" Hannah asked with a small giggle, but Nico merely stared back at her blankly.

"Leo." He replied, not giving a damn anymore about…pretty much anything.

The last six rounds, and they had to dish out _this_?

Well, at least he wasn't standing in the middle of the room, trying and failing to pose like his dad – that was Jason's misfortune, the poor soul.

"What?!" " _Dude_." "That was quick." "Are you sure you guys are exclusive?"

Nico rolled his eyes at the variety of responses he got, only caring about the way Jason shot him an alarmed look before being chided by Annabeth, while Percy snorted and kept quiet, and Will buried his face in his hands with a small laugh.

"Wow…di Angelo, I'd have ever thought…" Leo commented with a small laugh and a look that said he wasn't quite sure how to deal with this situation, so Nico decided to put them all to ease.

"So he can finally put up the A/C in my cabin." He elaborated, and the sigh of relief that went through the cabin was almost comical.

"I knew it." Will breathed next to him and started chuckling all over again, with Percy chiming in and Jason focusing back on his task of staying in pose properly for another round.

"Oh… _oh!_ Gods, dude, you had me fooled for a moment." Leo exclaimed visibly relieved, though Nico only shrugged.

"You're not my type."

While it was true, that was apparently the wrong thing to say, because Leo suddenly looked positively offended, exclaiming he was 'everybody's type' – _even more so than Percy_ – and that Nico was just living in denial.

Nico decided to ignore him, instead daring Piper to act like an old woman for the rest of the game, as payback for her joking about Jason's time as a grandpa.

Of course, she hadn't meant it in a bad way, but neither did he, so they laughed about it and continued the game.

Nico was about to believe he had finally had enough, when Drew turned towards him with a dangerous gleam in her eyes, and he knew it was over.

" _Nico_! Truth. Or. Dare."

He did _not_ like how she was asking that.

He also didn't like that he had once more used up all his Truths.

"Dare." He grumbled, feeling Will tense next to him as Percy buried his face in his hands again and muttered something about this game being horribly unfair on the four of them.

(Nico agreed whole-heartedly.)

"Kiss a girl."

What.

 _What._

 _WHAT?!_

"No."

Nico blinked, looking sideways at Will, since _he_ had said that, not Nico.

"No, he won't do that. Drew, forget it. He's _gay_. Leave him alone." Will snapped, bristling where he sat and looking ready to hiss – which he actually _did_ a moment later when Drew started complaining.

"He didn't even say he had any problem with-…"

"No." Will cut in, looking unusually upset.

"But it's not gonna hurt him!"

"No!"

" _Will_!"

" _Forget it_ , Drew."

"You're so freaking stubborn! Rein in your jealousy, dude!"

"Then rein in your attitude! I said no. Think of something different. Nico is _not_ going to kiss a girl. Over my dead body." He snapped back at her, looking ready to pounce now, which had Percy and Nico exchanging alarmed looks and Jason moving back over to them immediately, sitting down next to their blonde to put his hand on his thigh and _keep him there_.

What?

What was even going on?

Shouldn't it be Nico insisting he didn't want to kiss anybody?

Well, he _didn't_ , especially not a girl, but he'd have never thought _Will_ would be the one reacting this way.

"Think of something different, Drew. They did say they were exclusive from beginning on." Annabeth put in quietly, seemingly unmoved by the scene in front of her, though her eyes were set on Will as well.

Both Drew and Will huffed, staring each other down for another long moment before Drew finally relented with a frustrated sound.

" _Fine_. Jealous fool. If he's gay, a kiss wouldn't have done shit, anyways." She grumbled, but Will merely hissed at her again, still bristling like an angry kitten.

Nico reached out to stroke over his arm tentatively, but that only minimally soothed him, even if he _did_ lean into the touch ever so faintly.

"Alright. Nico, use the letters of your boyfriends' names to describe them." Drew dared with a dismissive wave of her hand, though Nico felt as if she had punched him in the face.

What the…

"I'm _dyslexic_!" He exclaimed indignantly, while Percy groaned and Jason threw Drew a look that said 'Is this _really_ necessary?'.

Will looked ready to hiss again.

"So? You can spell the names of your boyfriends though, right? Just pick one of them, then. Would love to see your favorite." She shot back unimpressed, making Nico clench his jaw.

"I don't _have_ a favorite, Drew."

She merely waved off again.

Was she always this way, or was she simply tired? Nico decided he didn't care.

Grumbling to himself, he buried his face in his hands for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts.

"Fine! Erm…fuck. Drew, give an example. I don't know what you want from me." He breathed out in frustration and she huffed, though she now looked more smug than annoyed, which in turn annoyed him.

But hey, after this, there was _no way_ it could be his turn again for anything, so once this was over, he'd be free.

"Spell your boyfriends' names. You know, like P for Petty, I for Idiot, P for Prissy, E for Eccentric, R for Rude." Drew explained, now permanently waving her hand in the air apparently, while Piper frowned and shot her a confused look.

"Did you just spell out _my_ name?" She asked incredulously, while Annabeth's frown deepened as she seemed to ponder the same thing, but now Drew started clicking her tongue and gestured even wilder.

"What does it matter?! Get started, gay lover boy."

"Hey. Watch it. Else D will stand for Dead." Will hissed and Drew hissed right back, but then Jason cleared his throat pointedly and they both averted their gazes with matching scowls on their faces.

Right…

Okay, but at least Nico knew what to do now.

"Will, I'll start with you, yeah?" He asked, and Will gave a small nod, though he still seemed upset for reasons unknown.

Come on, he wasn't seriously jealous, right?

He had laughed when Nico had talked about Leo, so there was no chance he could seriously be upset about _Drew_ , right?

 _Right_?

Nico stroked Will's arm up and down repeatedly while both trying to ponder that as well as his task ahead, which proved to be a terrible mix.

"Erm…W for…witty? Witty. I…incredible. Lovely…and…erm…what else starts with L? Luminous! Yes, luminous." He stammered, moving his hand to his skull earring to have something to fiddle with.

There was some snickering, and Drew's huffed 'You're missing the I-A-M' wasn't lost to him either, but he ignored both.

"Percy…P…perfect. E…Endearing…R…erm…what starts with R…" Nico trailed off, staring at Percy for some sort of flash of inspiration, but nothing came to him.

"Really weird sometimes. That counts. C…Cute. Yes, cute. And…Perc _y_ …Y…Dorky."

"That sucked." Drew piped up, but promptly got Annabeth's elbow in the ribs, so Nico saw no need to look at her as he shot Percy an apologetic smile and turned towards Jason.

"Jason…Gentle. A…mazing. Amazing. S…Sappy as hell. Erm…Jason…O…o…optimistic? And…and…Jason…N…N…Nice? Nurturing? Nyah?" Nico broke off and rubbed his face in his hands, groaning at the building headache from breaking his brain.

Why was this so _difficult_?!

Will started trembling next to him, and for a moment Nico thought he was still upset (or upset _again_ ), but then he suddenly heard him _giggling_.

" _Nyah_? Really?" His boyfriend repeated while Jason tried very poorly to hide his grin, and Nico's expression instantly turned stony.

"Are you _making fun of me_?" He asked deadly quiet, which strangely enough led to his boyfriends cracking up with laughter, even _Percy_ joining in, making Nico glower at the lot of them, while _others_ started joining in, too.

He was _so_ done with them all.

"I'm sending you all in the bin of shame, I'm just saying." He declared sulkily, but that only made everybody laugh even more.

"We wouldn't fit. So, Nico, would you do us the honor of picking the next to last victim?" Annabeth said with a smile playing on her lips as well, and Nico half-heartedly tried to glower at her long enough to make it disappear.

Unfortunately, said smile only widened.

Seriously, people used to be scared of him just being near them, and now everybody was laughing him in the face when he _glared_ at them?

Sometimes, Nico didn't understand how people worked – and at this rate, he was pretty sure he'd also never find out.

Resigning himself to his fate, he turned towards Piper.

"Piper, Truth or Dare?"

At least they wouldn't be able to pick him anymore.

The night was saved.

Now, two more rounds and they'd be free to go, which meant the four of them could make straight for their cabin, Nico could push the three of them into a bush or two in retaliation for their laughter, and they could all snuggle up in bed and find their well-deserved, peaceful rest.

"Truth." Piper replied, seemingly not surprised in the slightest he picked her again.

Nico simply didn't like asking people he wasn't all that familiar with, so he had tried sticking to Piper and the Apollo kids if possible.

"What would you like to do for a date?" He asked with a shrug, unable to think of anything better with his body and soul craving their bed already.

"Are you asking my girlfriend out?" Annabeth asked dryly with a raised eyebrow, though he knew she was just making fun.

"Only if you suck at taking her for dates, I guess." He replied, and promptly had people gaping at him while Kayla cackled – then she dropped sideways onto Alec, fast-asleep.

"Wow, what a gentleman. But no worries, Annabeth can take me on _great_ dates when the muse strikes her. I'd absolutely love one of those picnics again sometime. They were nice." Piper said softly, smiling sideways at her girlfriend, who tried very hard not to look her way as she busied herself with collecting various bowls from around them and stacking them on top of each other as if to build a tower.

"Hey, I have a great basket for picnics you can use. And an old radio. It even works – most of the time, at least." Will put in, helpful as usual, and Piper's eyes immediately gleamed as she looked back at Annabeth with renewed vigor.

Annabeth halted in her tower-building, not even looking at her girlfriend, though she let out a deep sigh a moment later.

"It would be great if we could borrow that sometime then, Will. Thank you for the offer." She replied almost hesitantly, which struck Nico as odd, since Annabeth wasn't _that_ prideful not to accept help every here and there.

Then, he saw her giving the faintest nod towards Piper that didn't seem to have anything to do with the date, and Nico's eyes narrowed when he saw Piper sigh and turn towards Will, too, an apologetic look on her face.

"So, last one: Will, Truth or Dare?"

Nico immediately glowered at Annabeth.

So, wait, since she couldn't get to Will, she let her girlfriend do it for her?

How unfair was that?

Will let out a small sigh and put on a pained smile, probably aware of the same thing.

"Truth."

Nico would have taken Dare.

Then again, now that he thought about it, there was a pretty good chance Will _couldn't_ take Dare, since he had been the opposite of Nico and constantly chosen Dare until forced into the Truths.

"Would you ever lie to your boyfriends?" Piper asked, and it was amazing how quiet people could get when they sensed something serious.

Nico immediately looked towards Will, Percy and Jason doing the same.

The answer was no, right?

Hey, the answer _better_ be no.

Will made a face and shot Annabeth a dirty look, but she was busy studying her fingernails intently.

"That's a pretty dumb question. Plus, if you haven't noticed, all my siblings are asleep, so I could say whatever I want, I'm just saying." Will pointed out, but the fact his reply wasn't an immediate 'No.' was enough to make Nico's blood run cold.

"I trust you to stick to the rules, Solace." Annabeth replied without looking up, no discernable emotion in her voice, though Piper still looked apologetic.

"Will?" Percy asked quietly, cautiously, and Will's grimace turned to a scowl.

"No. I wouldn't lie to them." He then more snapped than replied, looking as if he had eaten something rancid.

"Unless it was to protect them, of course." He then added, right when Nico felt Percy and himself relaxing, and his anxiety shot right back up.

"Will, there's nothing you have to protect us from, so get that right out of your head again." He insisted immediately, frustrated when Will didn't meet his gaze, though the fact he was busy glowering at Annabeth sadly didn't show whether he was intentionally avoiding Nico right now or not.

"Agreed. No secrets. No lies." Jason affirmed, and Percy gave a stern nod, while Will merely pursed his lips.

"No secrets and no lies, huh? Interesting." Annabeth remarked, ignoring Will's scowl as she added the last bowl in her vicinity to the tower, her expression close to amused.

"Don't butt into things you don't understand." Will suddenly snapped and got up, making Percy, Nico and Jason jump.

What was it _now_?

"Maybe you should come clean with things _you_ don't understand." Annabeth retorted, just to have Piper grab her thigh and give a little shake of her head.

Nico caught the exchange out of the corners of his eyes as he made to grab Will's hand, trying to gauge whether he was just upset or whether he was trying to run, but next to the fact he seemed upset, he didn't make a move to get away, so that was at least something.

"Oh, you have _no idea_." Will grumbled under his breath, but since Nico felt like he himself had no idea either, the statement bothered him much, _much_ more than it probably should have.

"Only because you are stubborn." Annabeth shrugged and got up, while Will still looked back at her darkly.

"I intend to keep it that way."

Nico hated exchanges such as these, because he always wanted to interrupt and find out what the hell was going on, but never dared to, too anxious to upset his partner in the process.

He had seen enough couples fight because one partner kept trying to butt into everything the other one did, and _he_ didn't want to end up like that.

"Alright, cool your horses. Annabeth, I'll take this as my cue to remind you that you promised to leave Will alone for tonight. So, whatever it is you two got going on between you, settle it some other day, alright?" Percy put in, apparently deciding to be that person just this once, and both Annabeth and Will immediately turned towards him as if to pick a fight.

"This was the last round, right? I think it's time we left, then. Sleep-deprivation makes everybody cranky, after all, and we shouldn't end the night with bad blood, right?" Jason chimed in, and Nico guessed that meant it was okay to interrupt now.

"Yeah, I can already hear the bed screaming my name. Come on, Will, let's go. Leo, don't forget the-…is he sleeping?" He interrupted himself as his eyes fell on a mop of curly brown hair, while the rest of Leo's body was behind some sort of giant…stereo…?

All Nico could see was that his hands still seemed to be fiddling with something, so he honestly couldn't tell whether he was asleep or awake.

"When did he build that?" Mitchell asked impressed as he poked him – and since Leo dropped sideways and stayed slumped on the ground in a snoring heap, Nico was going to assume he was indeed asleep.

"Sometime between Piper talking about her picnic date and now, I guess? Well, can _somebody_ remind him to install the A/C tomorrow? Sharing a bed is torture when it's getting warmer." He explained as he nudged Will towards the entrance, pleased to find him coming along pliantly.

"Hehe, at least you have an empty cabin to yourself. Annabeth has been complaining non-stop that she and Piper can't have any 'peaceful moments' to themselves, _ever_." Malcolm put in with a shit-eating grin and exaggerated air quotes, which made Annabeth crash her tower and turn around to box her half-brother in the shoulder.

Ouch, that looked painful.

"You little shit _took pictures_ of us! We can't even sleep in peace!"

Okay, if Annabeth was losing it, it was _definitely_ time to leave.

Nico exchanged a telling look with Percy and Jason, who immediately nodded and made for the door.

"Well, you do that. Good night." Nico bid his farewell hurriedly as he pulled open the door and ushered his guys out, while a whole _war_ seemed to break out between the last awake people.

At least he saw pillows flying, bowls falling and Annabeth apparently trying to throttle her brother.

"Killing your siblings isn't very wise." He added, just to be a smartass, and felt way too satisfied when he heard her indignant cry seconds before he closed the door.

He exchanged a broad grin with Percy, then they heard crashing sounds behind them and decided to get very far away from this cabin very fast.

"Ready to go?" Nico asked Will, glad when Will looked calmer again and even smiled at him, albeit tiredly.

"Absolutely."

"Great. Hey, mind if we spend the night somewhere else?" Jason put in just as they started walking, and Nico frowned up at him in question.

Jason merely smiled and seemed to wait for a yes or no, so they exchanged puzzled looks but agreed, allowing him to lead the way…to his cabin?

Well, okay?

"It's a mild night, so I think we should be okay as long as we have enough blankets. Percy…you'll see once we get there, but I'm counting on the view to make up for…anything else." Jason explained, which wasn't an explanation at all, but Nico had a hunch he knew, anyways.

Nico smiled to himself, just to notice Will staring at him intently, apparently demanding a hint or explanation.

But Nico merely smiled wider, threading their fingers together and humming to himself.

Yes, that was going to be interesting.

...

"This is a horrible idea." Percy whispered, because it was the truth.

He would yell the words at Jason, but sadly, his boyfriend looked so horribly hopeful as he led Percy up the narrow staircase to the roof of his cabin that Percy _couldn't_ make himself heard.

Not when Jason gave him _that_ look.

Not when Jason squeezed his hand _that_ gently.

Not when Jason seemed so _happy_ to get this moment.

So Percy tried to swallow his rising anxiety and followed, trying to tell himself everything would be alright.

Nico and Will were right behind him, Nico still grinning the same way as when he had figured out their final destination for the night, while Will had his eyes on Percy with an expression that said he'd speak up for him if Percy needed it.

The thought was both reassuring as well as conflicting.

Percy didn't want to be the reason Jason couldn't have this.

Jason looked back at him with a nervous, but giddy look, seeming both excited as well as uneasy, so Percy hurriedly tried to put on his best smile.

Sadly, acting had never been his strong suite in moments such as these.

"Don't worry, Percy. I've got you. You've got nothing to worry about. Trust me?"

He'd trust Jason to hell and back, maybe even further than that.

Percy gave a small nod, then glanced back at Will and Nico miserably the moment Jason had his back to him again.

They sent him reassuring smiles, then one of them even dared to pat him on the butt, though he couldn't tell who the culprit was due to the dim light.

Since Will was the one carrying most of the blankets, he was pretty sure it must have been Nico, since he was only holding a bunch of pillows under his arm and his jar of fire, but it didn't seem like something Nico would do, unless he was very, _very_ tired – in which case he was great at hiding it, because the moment the game had ended, he had seemed wide awake once more.

Percy was too distracted to solve the mystery to notice Jason gently ushering him onto the rooftop, only realizing something was off when a gentle breeze ruffled through his hair and he noticed the stars above his head.

Whoa, shit, _stars_.

 _So many stars_.

" _Wow_." He and Will breathed at the same time, while Nico let out a small chuckle and a whispered 'Told you so.' as he moved to Jason's side and entwined their fingers with his free hand as he dumped the pillows on the ground, the two of them exchanging soft looks.

But Percy ignored them, instead staring up at the sky above them.

He could have sworn there hadn't been even half as many stars in that sky mere minutes ago when they had trudged through the Camp.

"You know, back when you told us about this place, I was so curious I had hoped Percy would dare you to take all of us up here sometime." Will mumbled, eyes still cast upwards, and Percy shot him a pointed look, wondering why they always made _him_ sound like the one who pushed everybody to do stuff.

"I've been meaning to take you three up here ever since the Underworld, to be honest. It just never really came up, and I didn't want to push Percy unnecessarily, but also wanted to spare myself the trouble of having to deal with his fit of jealousy if I had only taken you two up here." Jason explained, and Percy glowered at him.

"Hey. I'm right here, you know? Plus, what do you mean, _I'm_ not _jealous_!"

The last time he had checked, _Nico and Will_ had been the ones glowering at Leo/Piper, and it definitely hadn't been Percy who had snapped at Drew.

 _He_ was definitely _not_ the jealous one here.

"Percy, may I remind you of how you threw a hissy fit on the train when Will and I shared a bed for a few hours?" Jason pointed out with raised eyebrows and a knowing look on his face, and Percy huffed indignantly.

"That was not…I was not…that was no hissy fit! I was simply…you _said_ you wouldn't make a move on him! And then I wake up to you two _sharing a bed_. _Again_! I was upset you would _lie to me like that_ , man. No jealousy. Nope. None." He insisted stubbornly and crossed his arms in front of his chest, while Will rolled his eyes and Nico looked confused.

"Right. Then what about the time you and Will picked up coffee and you threw a fit because somebody flirted with Will?"

For a moment, Percy didn't know what Jason was talking about.

"What?" "When was that?"

Nico and Will asked with puzzled looks, but just then, Percy _remembered_.

His expression darkened immediately, his hands balling to fists.

"That freaking _dick_. He looked him up and down like a piece of meat and went all 'Mine'! Out of nowhere! I was _right there_ , Jason! Right there! The guy was too full of himself, I'm telling you! Making heart eyes at him out of nowhere! Nowhere, Jason! He didn't even know his name! Heck, Will didn't even really _look at the guy_ , and he _still_ thought he could just leave his freaking number on that stupid cup!" He ranted, just the mere memory enough to make his blood boil.

" _What_." Both Nico and Will stated at the same time, now _staring_ at Percy, while Jason crossed his arms in front of his chest with a smug, knowing grin.

"Yeah? But why, Percy, would you be bothered by somebody flirting with Will, if you weren't _jealous_?"

"When was this, exactly?" "Hello? Explain?" Will and Nico urged them, but Percy remained stubborn, glaring off into the distance.

"Not jealous. Just…careful. The guy was _clearly_ a creep. It was my _duty_ to protect Will."

"Is that so? But you said Will didn't even look at the guy."

"He didn't." Percy instantly shot back, and Will and Nico still frowned at him, while Jason's smirk widened.

"So you admit you were jealous?" Jason asked, and Percy groaned in defeat, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Maybe a tiny little…ugh, f _ine_! I was jealous! For fuck's sake, Jason, leave me alone, I'm a weak man." He wailed, and both Will and Nico huffed in apparent agreement, while Jason let out a small laugh.

"I know. I love it. You're so easy to tease, love. Now, let's get everything ready and settle down, yeah?" Jason declared and ruffled through Percy's hair, which made him feel small and belittled, but the fact Jason had called him 'love' more than made up for it again.

"Only if you explain what the heck you two were just talking about. Who was I flirting with?" Will insisted, and Percy grumbled to himself as he took the blankets from him.

"With nobody. Some dick flirted with you. Long time ago. Completely unimportant. Irrelevant. Irrelevant _and_ unimportant." He retorted, and Jason promptly snorted.

" _Somebody_ still seems bothered by that."

"Am not."

"Oh yeah? You know, the coffee wasn't half bad, tough. We should check out that place again and see whether the guy recognizes Will." Jason teased, and even though Percy knew he was doing it on purpose, he couldn't help but growl immediately.

" _No_."

"Percy, I don't even know who you're talking about. I'm pretty sure whatever mystery guy this is didn't leave a lasting impression." Will remarked with an amused tone and Percy grumbled again, though he knew he didn't have anything to worry about.

"Though I do have to say that you're one to talk, Jason. Who was the one upset about Percy getting the Dare-kiss with me?" Will then pointed out and Percy's spirits immediately lifted as he cackled triumphantly.

"Yes, Jason, who was upset about the Dare-kiss?" He teased, and watched Jason's face darkening instantly.

" _I_ was. Because _you_ were jealous and had to take my back then only chance to kiss Will." Jason then sulked and Percy huffed indignantly, though he still knew how guilty he had felt right after.

"I just love how you're all talking about wanting to kiss Will and being jealous at a time when I forbid myself to entertain any feelings for anyone but Percy." Nico remarked dryly as he placed his jar on the ground and fluffed up one of the pillows they had brought, and the three of them immediately fell silent.

Oh.

Yeah…that…might not be such a great thing to talk about.

"Gods, Nico, don't even get us started on _you_. After our date in December, you think even a day passed in which I didn't want to kiss you senseless? Such tough times, I'm telling you…" Will muttered as he shook his head and settled down next to Nico on their makeshift bed for the night (or until they'd get too cold and go back inside).

"We should have been more open and straight-forward with our feelings from the beginning on." Jason put in quietly, which seemed to be the solution to 90% of their problems.

Percy forgot what the other 10% were.

"Do you think our communication has become better now, though?" Percy asked thoughtfully, then scolded himself, because that was a way too serious question to ask in a beautiful night like this.

Then again, if things went his way, they'd spend this beautiful night doing something much different than talking.

"I do think so. It may not be perfect, but I don't think there is any such thing as perfect. As long as we keep on trying, I think we'll be fine." Jason replied, and Percy gave a small nod.

Silence settled over them as each of them followed their own lines of thought, and Percy was amazed how _quiet_ it was up here.

It was rather…nice.

"It's so peaceful up here." Will whispered after what felt like forever, as if reluctant to disturb said peace, and they hummed in agreement, shifting to snuggle closer together, with the blankets tightly wrapped around them and Nico's jar next to them to cast a soft, warm light.

It was almost 3am in the morning, and they were on the roof of Jason's cabin.

It was almost 3am in the morning, and they half-laid, half-sat there, huddled together in their makeshift bed, the world asleep around them and the stars shining brightly above them.

It was almost 3am in the morning, and Percy closed his eyes with a soft smile, feeling perfectly happy and at peace.

...

"Oh, I have a good one. Nico, Truth or Dare?" Will giggled – the sort of giggle that could only happen at ungodly hours in the middle of the night, when everything was quiet and peaceful and one felt invincible.

Nico knew this, because he was giggling that very same way as well.

"Truth. Always Truth." He replied, though that was a lie, because he had already picked Dare twice – which had resulted in affectionate nuzzling and giddy kissing between Jason and himself both times, much to his delight.

"Sexual. Fantasy. What would you like to try out? Don't think I didn't notice how flustered you got when they asked you that." Will asked, trying to sound gleeful and teasing, though the next fit of giggles ruined it.

Nico wailed, then snorted out a small laugh and tried to turn onto his side to hide at Jason's chest, who had him and Will pressed against him from either side, while Percy was the one who had the most desired spot between Jason's legs, with his arms crossed over Jason's chest and a playful grin on his face as he watched his boyfriends.

Under normal circumstances, Nico would _never_ reply to this question.

But these were no normal circumstances.

It was gods knew what time, and he felt as if the four of them were the only people in the world, and things such as embarrassment or shame didn't exist up here on this roof.

"Only if you promise not to make fun of me." He insisted though he'd probably tell anyways, and Will immediately started acting overly dramatic, clutching at his chest with an _offended_ look.

"I would _never_!" He declared – before laughing loudly again and pressing his face against Jason's arm as his shoulders shook from laughter and exhaustion.

Jason smiled at them both, a lot calmer than them, though he clearly enjoyed watching them in their crazed states.

They simply couldn't help it!

At some point, Will had brought up a game of Truth or Dare, and from the moment Percy had dished out shitty pick-up lines, the two of them had been goners and giggled ever since.

"Okay! Okay, _listen_." Nico started, mimicking Percy's usual flair of dramatism as he tried to sit up slightly, though that was immediately discarded again when Will cracked up with laughter all over again, which made Nico join in immediately once more.

Who knew laughter could be this contagious?

"Yes? Give me all those dirty secrets, babe." Will demanded with a flushed face and his freckles almost glowing brighter than his smile, but when he wiggled his eyebrows at him 'suggestively', Nico wanted to howl with laughter, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

"You two are absolutely adorable, have I ever mentioned?" Jason mused with utmost adoration in his voice, but Percy and Will immediately shushed him.

"Shh, Nico is about to tell us his fantasies." "Don't disturb them, Jason, this is beautiful."

"I'll only tell _one_ of them." Nico insisted, lifting one finger for emphasis, and Will sucked in a surprised, yet elated sounding breath.

"So there's _more_?"

"Oh baby, you have no idea." Nico replied, aiming for a purr like Will sometimes managed, but the result made Will nearly squeal into Jason's shoulder.

"Tell us! Tell _me_!"

"Never. They're my dirty little secrets." Nico declared, and Percy and Jason exchanged an amused look, while Will started humming a tune Nico didn't know.

"Okay. So…I was thinking…" Nico started again, then broke off laughing again when Will hiccupped in the middle of his humming, and the two started poking at each other from either side of Jason and Percy, who watched with affectionate expressions on their faces.

"You remember the thing we did in the park?" He asked while giggling, and Will's eyes widened as he nodded wildly, both of them now clutching Jason's arms dramatically, who neither seemed surprised nor bothered by it, even though it immobilized him entirely.

"I had a dream. With us. Like that." Nico explained, trying to keep it together for long enough to see what Will would say to _that_ , but then they both started laughing again, anyways.

Could one get drunk from laughing too much?

Or maybe it was the air up here.

Whatever it was, it made Nico light-headed and giddy and weird, though he currently couldn't figure out why he had the feeling this should bother him.

It felt great, after all.

"Oh really? What did we do in that dream, eh?" Will asked with ill-concealed glee as he tried and failed once more to wiggle his eyebrows at him, which resulted in them both burying their faces at Jason's arms.

"Sex!" Nico exclaimed, much louder than he ever would have under different circumstances, but nobody seemed to care.

" _Ooooh_!" Will tried and succeeded to imitate his entire cabin in one go, and Nico nearly cried from laughter.

"You know, we could totally try that." Percy mused thoughtfully, while Jason gazed up at the stars with a soft smile on his face, letting them mishandle him as they still clutched his arms and Percy abused his chest as pillow.

"Not when they're like this. They are tired and definitely past their breaking point." Their blonde put in, and Will and Nico let out matching sounds of offense.

"I'm not tired!" "I want more sex!"

Will and Nico exclaimed at the same time, then looked at each other with surprised looks on their faces, before they cracked up laughing all over again.

Nico's stomach ached and his face hurt, but this had to be the best thing in his life.

"See what I mean?" Jason said, but Percy was shifting and looking at Nico with an oddly contemplative expression on his face that made Nico _try_ to rein in his laughter.

"You want more sex?" He asked almost conversationally, and Nico _vaguely_ thought he should probably feel self-conscious about this – or at least hesitant.

Instead, he immediately nodded, acting as seriously as he could with the corners of his lips vibrating from the effort it took not to quirk up again.

"Yes. You three always tease me so much, but rarely follow up on it. I'm used to _more_!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms up theatrically before making a small, surprised noise as he started rolling away – though Jason immediately snatched him again and pulled him back against his side with a small chuckle.

"Are you now?" He asked softly while making sure Nico stayed where he was, and Nico nodded insistently.

Percy seemed oddly interested, as well, his elbows on Jason's chest as he has his chin on his hands, studying Nico with an intense gleam in his eyes.

Will, on the other hand, was still a giggling, laughing mess that didn't even seem to notice what was going on around him anymore.

"Yes! Percy, you used to have sex with me _every day_! Well, you got me off every day, at least…" Nico trailed off with a small pout, before poking Will's cheek with a grin – just to start giggling again when Will let out an outraged squeal and tried to poke back.

"Plus, I'm curious. I want to know what it's like. I want to know…wait for it…" Nico paused for dramatic effect, then threw his arms up again.

" _Everything_!"

Will mimicked him from the other side with a small, cute sound, and they both wailed when they started simultaneously rolling away from their safe haven – Jason – who let out a loud sigh and collected them both once more, tugging them firmly against his sides.

"Here we go. Stay here, will you?" He chided, and they both put on matching pouts, which had him shaking his head to himself with his glasses sliding over his forehead and onto the blanket.

Will and Nico tried to grab them at the same time, which resulted in them batting each other's hands away playfully while Percy picked the glasses up and pushed them back onto Jason's nose.

"So, Nico, tell me more about that fantasy of yours." Percy mused with utmost amusement, but Nico shook his head stubbornly.

"Nah, already did. Plus, it's _my_ turn. So _you_ tell me…erm…what do you want? Truth or Dare?" He asked, which had Will huffing out a small laugh.

"He's gonna pick Dare!" He exclaimed, the same moment Percy said 'Dare', and Nico and Will started giggling again.

"Why are you like this?" Jason asked as he shook his head, but his expression was nothing but fond.

"It's Percy's fault." "I blame the cherries. And Percy."

Nico and Will insisted, then high-fived and laughed all over again, while Percy let out an indignant huff.

But then, he all but _gloated_.

"So I'm the one who made you so overjoyed and adorable? Wow, guess I'm simply that great."

"Percy, they're like drunk. That's nothing you should be proud of." Jason chided, but Percy waved off, before nudging Nico and demanding to know his dare.

Nico tried to sit up again somewhat, so he could get closer to his boyfriend and give him his most serious expression he could muster.

"Your dare is…to kiss me. Or Jason. Jason probably needs it more than me, though. Know what, kiss us both. No wait, kiss all three of us. We wouldn't want Will left out, he's a sweetheart." Nico insisted heatedly, trying to work out a plan in his head how Percy could appease all their needs for kisses at this very moment, which equaled a rather long and odd looking formula he had never seen before.

"Aww, he called me a sweetheart!" Will immediately exclaimed, and all thoughts of scheming were forgotten as Nico argued loudly and repeatedly nudged Will, who nudged him right back, and the two tried fighting each other from either side of Jason – though their boyfriend promptly put an end to it by pulling them tighter to his side and giving each of them a kiss to the forehead.

"So I'm supposed to kiss all three of you? Anybody who wants to go first?" Percy asked, clearly amused by their state, and Will and Nico immediately threw their hands up.

"Me! Take me!" "I want to be your first!"

Nico and Will exclaimed loudly, glad when Jason automatically tightened his grip on them to keep them there this time.

"So much enthusiasm." Percy mused with a pleased look on his face, but then he leaned down and kissed Jason, instead.

They both complained, but then their breaths hitched in sync as they watched the kiss unfold, with Jason leaning up to meet Percy's tongue with his own, and their faces flushing with color so nicely, and Percy spending way too much time on making the kiss as languid and deep as possible.

He was _definitely_ doing that to get under their skin.

Nico noticed vaguely he was drooling, so he hurriedly wiped his mouth on his sleeve and gave Percy's shirt a sharp tug.

"Percy. Percy, I want to be kissed, too. Percy, do it. Percy, I want to be next. Percy, Percy, Percy." He chanted, just to have Percy pulling away from Jason's lips and turn his head, his hand already reaching out to tug Nico forward and press their lips together next.

Nico all but melted against him, managing to push himself up somewhat as Jason pulled his arm away with a small chuckle, while Will let out a needy sound, clearly wanting to be kissed as well.

Percy's mouth was warm and wet and inviting, and Nico felt love and lust washing over him as he pushed against him more insistently, trying to get his fill even though he knew he'd never have enough.

His boyfriend pulled away from him way too quickly in order to turn towards Will, so Nico promptly whined again and looked hopefully towards Jason, who had his upper body propped up now and looked at him with his eyebrows raised.

"Yes?" He asked, but that was good enough for Nico to move forward and cup his face in his own to kiss him.

It was different from Percy's kiss, but just as great, and Nico moaned against his lips when he felt Jason's hand brushing through his hair.

"Hey, that was _my_ dare, Nico. You two can get carried away later." Percy chided, but Nico had no intent of obeying.

Unfortunately, Jason apparently did, because he pulled away from him with a soft sigh and another peck on his lips.

"But you kissed them much longer than you kissed me." Nico argued, vaguely hoping this might get him another kiss with Percy, but his boyfriend only brushed his finger over Nico's lips and told him to be patient.

Nico sulked and looked towards Will, but Will was still sitting there with his eyes half-closed and a dreamy expression on his face, apparently still stuck in some sort of post-orgasmic bliss or something.

Well, without the orgasm, Nico guessed.

"So, Nico, Truth or Dare?" Percy asked good-naturedly, and Nico wondered how it could be his turn again when it had _just_ been his turn, but he forgot to ask the question out loud.

"Truth!" He declared instead, managing to sit up properly and looking at Percy with an expression that hopefully conveyed 'Bring it on!', rather than 'Take me on the floor!'.

Since Percy was dangerously close the very next moment though, he wasn't quite sure which one it was.

Fingers trailed from his navel over his chest to his lips as Percy leaned into his personal space, their lips inches away from each other and Percy's expression alluring and inviting and seductive.

"So…about that fantasy…"

Nico vaguely made out his words, but he was too distracted by _Percy_ to really comprehend.

He knew he was leaning back slightly so he could keep looking into those beautiful, sea-green eyes, but he also knew Percy kept advancing on him, because he was now nearly laying back on their blankets as Percy shifted on top of him, nudging his legs apart to get comfortable.

"Percy, are you trying to seduce Nico?" Jason asked in an oddly chiding tone, and Percy's expression turned sheepish for a moment, effectively breaking the moment and giving Nico free to blink and make sense of his words.

"Maybe? Come on, you can't seriously tell me you're _not_ curious."

"I would never say that, but are you sure he's in any state to give his consent?" Jason asked with a serious undertone, and Nico promptly huffed.

"I can give my consent just fine. Will, tell him how good I can give my consent."

Will looked around at them with a befuddled look – then he made grabby hands at him and Nico all but threw himself across Jason and into his arms, making them both topple backwards and into the sheets as he misjudged both the distance and his own strength.

"Aww, now Will gets to seduce him. Thanks a lot, Jason." Percy sulked behind him, but Nico was too busy gasping and groping as Will moaned loudly beneath him and wrapped his arms and legs around him, their lips meeting in a series of messy, shabby kisses that had them giggling and poking fun at each other in no time again.

"I can give my consent just fine." Nico insisted before tugging on Will's bottom lip, and Will nodded distractedly, before he suddenly flipped them over and pushed Nico down into the blankets beneath them.

"Wanna have sex?" Will asked with a grin and a purr in his voice, and Nico automatically grinned up at him, eyes gleaming at the prospect of _sex_.

 _Now_.

Hell yes.

"Jason, I hate you." Percy sulked, and Jason muttered something under his breath Nico couldn't catch.

"You two can join in as well if you want. I'm sure Nico doesn't mind." Will added with a crooked grin as his hands slid under Nico's shirt and over his bare skin, and Nico gasped and arched his back into the touch immediately.

"Fuck yes, I don't mind. Please. Yes, yes, _yes_!" He exclaimed heatedly, breathing out a needy moan as Will's hands seemed to burn his skin, fingertips dancing across his chest and teasing his nipples.

"Look how responsive he is." Will purred, sounding as into this as Nico was, and he could see Percy shifting closer, looking more than eager to join in as well.

Jason was a tad more hesitant, remaining where he was and rather watching the scene unfold instead of joining in right away.

Nico was bothered by that for a total of the ten seconds it took Percy to help Will get Nico into a sitting position and sliding behind him to kiss along his neck from behind – then Nico stopped caring about anything that wasn't their lips on his skin.

"What do you want, Nico?" Will asked, smirking at him with that hungry look in his eyes that made Nico's skin tingle, though that might also be because Will tugged his shirt up to let his hands roam free once more.

"So many things." Nico breathed back, closing his eyes with a soft gasp as Percy bit his neck lightly.

"Yeah? Like what?" Will pried cheekily as he kissed Nico's left eyelid, before trailing kisses down his cheek to his lips, not even giving him any chance to speak for a long time.

"I can't decide." Nico whispered at last, because it was the truth.

"That's okay, we'll just figure something out along the way." Percy assured him from behind, tugging Nico onto his lap to get him closer, which felt amazing but probably looked really weird, since Will now had to somehow manage to straddle his lap _and_ Percy's.

"Let's start with who tops and who bottoms?" Will suggested, but Nico was amazed they could think anymore at all, because his mind was a blur of lust and love and awe and the yearning for more.

"I don't know." He whispered truthfully, but neither of his boyfriends seemed upset about it, instead dragging lips and teeth over his skin from front and back.

"Tell us about your fantasy, then?" Will tried, while Nico let his head tip back and moaned, trembling under their hot touches and hungry ministrations.

"Which one?" He asked dazedly, which made both of them chuckle softly against his skin.

"Remind me to ask you about this tomorrow – or later, I guess." Will mused, but Nico was going to do no such thing.

"Make me feel good and I'll think about it." He retorted, and promptly heard them huffing again, followed by Will pushing him back into Percy's arms and bending down to wrap his lips around Nico's nipple.

Well, damn.

Nico gasped, then moaned, then rolled his hips, which had both Percy and Will tightening their grips on him, their breaths just as ragged as his own.

"Jason?" He asked dazedly, just to hear shuffling next to them.

"He's still here. Want him to join in, too? What do you want him to do?" Will asked, always asking such difficult questions, and Nico made a small, conflicted noise before turning his head, searching for his boyfriend.

Jason appeared seconds later, his hands oddly cool and his breath still disturbingly even and composed as he leaned forward to give him a gentle kiss that only made Nico crave more.

"I don't know what I want." He whispered as he moved and pushed against Jason instead of Will and Percy, wanting him to take part in this, wanting him to kiss him more, wanting him to kiss him with the same lust and passion Nico felt right now.

"I think I have a hunch." Will whispered behind him but let him go, and Jason allowed Nico to push him down, his arms wrapping around him hesitantly but firmly.

Why was he always so careful with him?

" _Jason_!" Nico complained in annoyance, giving his bottom lip an insistent tug, and Jason blinked up at him in question, while Percy and Will snickered behind them.

Nico ignored them, instead glowering down at Jason.

"You promised me more, Jason. Now show me what you've got." He demanded, and Jason blinked again – before his expression changed to one of determination.

Nico didn't even have the time to feel smug before Jason had them flipped over and he was pressed into the blankets, Jason's entire weight on him as he crashed their lips together, his hands at the sides of Nico's face.

"Like this?" He asked him in a low, dark voice as he licked his way into his mouth, and Nico gasped helplessly, clutching him as his legs struggled to pull free so he could wrap them around him.

Their kissing was frantic, their movements even more so, and even though Jason had been the reluctant one about this, he was the one who started undressing Nico now, a low growl escaping him as he chased after Nico's lips the moment they parted.

"Fuck, now I get why Nico loved being pulled in the middle. _I_ want to be pulled into the middle right about now." Percy breathed wistfully from somewhere behind them, but Nico was too busy angling his hips up for Jason to rub against him better, his hands firmly on Nico's backside to pull him against him over and over again.

Nico only wished they could do this naked and with lube and condom.

"Oh, trust me, this is _nothing_ to how Jason and you usually look like. Now, who wants lube?" Will asked, and those had to be the most beautiful words in the world.

Nico mewled, throwing out an arm in order to draw attention to himself as he also arched his back into Jason's lips against his chest.

"Is this what you want, love? Jason dominating you?" Will asked for verification, and Nico nodded, just to hesitate.

Was it?

He wanted a lot, and all at the same time.

If he said yes to this now, did that mean he wouldn't be able to do anything else?

But when would the next time be they'd get carried away like this?

Jason kissed his way down to his navel, his eyes fixed on Nico's face just as much as Will's were.

"We can also switch through, if you want to give that a try, Nico." Will offered, and Nico breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Really? I mean, you won't think I'm…" He started, then trailed off, unable to finish that sentence.

"Think what? That you're enjoying yourself with your boyfriends?" Will asked with a hint of amusement, and Nico huffed out a small laugh as he relaxed again, spreading himself out beneath Jason and adoring the gleam that appeared in Jason's gaze almost instantly as he leaned down over him and promptly claimed his lips again.

"Percy? Jason?" He asked for confirmation between Jason's kisses, and they both hummed in agreement.

"Certainly sounds worth a try, and Jason is already one step away from ravishing you whole, Angel." Percy pointed out cheekily, but Nico only wondered how he could refer to him as 'Angel' when Nico was the one pushing up against Jason just as insistently as Jason was and was about to do much more than that.

"Then I definitely want the lube." Nico declared, and Will let out a small laugh as they heard shuffling.

Nico didn't even wonder why Will had lube on him or where he was keeping it – Will _always_ seemed to come prepared, Nico had long realized and accepted that.

Percy moved closer, and while Jason looked unusually possessive for a moment, he let him kiss Nico just fine, instead busying himself with Nico's boxer shorts and what laid beneath.

"You should have totally kept the lace panties, Nico. They would have _loved_ to see you in those." Will pointed out, but Nico didn't want to hear that right now, especially since he _had_ kept those lace panties and stuffed them inside his pant pocket at Drew's insistence once he had been allowed to change out of the 'dress'.

With a small sound of complaint, he shrugged the boxer shorts off with Jason's help and turned over to hide his quickly warming face, instead pulling Percy closer by the front of his shirt (why was he wearing that still?) and into a hurried kiss to have an excuse not to reply.

Will only chuckled, clearly knowing what Nico was doing, while Jason and Percy both drew sharp breaths.

Nico was vaguely aware he was now the only one naked, but kissing Percy definitely helped ease his nerves, and Jason's hands on his hips before one went to wrap around his dick took care that he wouldn't be feeling cold anytime soon as his body started burning from lust and adrenaline and need.

He moaned, then pushed Percy down further so he could arch his back better and push back against Jason's body, who promptly drew another sharp breath, his hands trembling.

Will let out a small whistling sound, and Nico heard a lid popping open, his skin automatically tingling in anticipation and yearning.

"Please…" He breathed against Percy's lips, though the plea was directed at Jason, who moved closer and rubbed his still clothed body against Nico's, his lips finding Nico's nape.

Percy moved his arms to catch himself as he dropped backwards further to allow Nico to still kiss him over and over again while pushing back against Jason repeatedly, trying to get him to get a move on.

He only stopped when Jason grabbed hold of his hip with one hand and put a stop to it, and then Nico resorted to whining.

"Seriously, Jason, hurry up! I can't deal with Nico like this, it's making me crazy!" Percy joined in with a low wail, his lips dragging along Nico's cheekbone to his ear, though that didn't do much for him other than make him whine more for Jason.

"I'm trying to hold back, actually. You think he's driving _you_ crazy, but you don't have to deal with his backside practically inviting you right in." Jason complained, and Nico made a small hissing sound, while Percy moaned and grumbled something about taking over in a moment if Jason didn't get going.

Will moved closer, but instead of helping Nico like he should, he instead winked at him and flopped down on the bundle of blankets next to them, just to steal his Percy's lips from him.

Nico whined even louder – then he gasped and groaned, arching his back as best as he could as he _finally_ felt Jason's hand where it was supposed to be.

" _Nico_ …" Jason groaned, his hand on Nico's hip trembling as he pushed one finger in, but Nico only thrusted back against him, trying to get him to go faster, deeper, more, more, _more_.

He felt a hand on his face and forced his eyes open, just to find Will tilting his head to kiss him, trying to sneakily take Percy's place, who first looked ready to fight, but then suddenly decided to rather share, shuffling a bit to the side to allow Will closer as well.

Nico didn't care, glad for all the kisses he could get.

Jason added a second finger, going agonizingly slow as usual, even though he should know by now Nico could take much more much quicker.

But this was Jason, and when Jason wasn't doing Percy, he was attentive and cautious and did everything as best and thorough as he could, which included no rushing.

It was both infuriating and endearing, but right now Nico was too needy for the second.

"Jason, _please_." He pleaded, his voice cracking as he gasped and pushed back, Will's lips finding his to either shut him up or give him something to do with his mouth, he didn't know.

He went along with it willingly, drawing his boyfriend into a drawn-out, messy kiss before breaking away again, but then there was Percy taking over, cupping his face and kissing him as if he was a man at sea and Nico was the water.

Will said something Nico couldn't catch, but whatever it was, it made Jason add a third finger and aim for his sweet spot, rendering him to a gasping, moaning mess in no time as he nearly collapsed on top of his boyfriends, while shamelessly presenting his backside to Jason.

Percy's leg rubbed against Nico's hard-on and he nearly sobbed, but then Will drew him into another kiss and kicked Percy's leg aside, easing the tension inside Nico again.

Then, Jason pulled his fingers out, and Nico wouldn't be surprised if his indignant swearing in Italian could be heard throughout the Camp, no matter how far up they were.

Will let out an amused snort, but Nico groped the front of his pants with an offended snarl, immediately making him gasp and whimper softly while Percy tried to rub soothing circles along Nico's sides to placate him.

"Jason, I swear, if you don't freaking-…" He started ranting in English, but then Jason already had his hand back on Nico's hip and something hard and wet pushed against his hole, so he let the rest of the sentence hang in the air unsaid as he closed his eyes in bliss and pushed his face into Percy's chest – or Will's, he wasn't quite sure.

Jason hesitated a moment longer, so Nico let out an impatient mewl and tried to push back against him, but then – _finally_ – Jason started moving, the tip of his dick sliding inside Nico and sending him into the usual whirl of sensations of pleasure, pain and anticipation.

He wanted more and he needed it fast, or he'd go crazy on this rooftop.

For once, Jason seemed to get the gist without him pointing it out, because he let out a low groan and started thrusting deeper into him at an acceptable pace.

"Is this okay?" Jason asked, sounding as if he was clenching his teeth, but Nico didn't turn around to check.

" _Faster_." He instead whimpered back, and Jason showed mercy, quickening his pace and moving both hands to clasp his hips.

" _Fuck_." Both Will and Percy whispered in unison and Nico opened his eyes to look at them, vaguely wondering how this had to be for them, since they were both stuck beneath him right now and neither got anything out of this but watching him and Jason.

They stared, watching them in a mixture of awe and yearning, and Nico wanted to ask whether there was anything he could do for them, but he couldn't catch his breath for long enough to get the words out, so he instead clutched them for dear life and rutted back against Jason frantically.

"Nico, what do you want?" Will asked, sounding breathless but urgent, but Nico had no idea what he meant.

"Right now, that Jason picks up the pace and goes harder."

"Nico, I love you, but I'm not going to-…"

Jason didn't have to finish the sentence for Nico to start whining again.

"That's not what I meant. Do you want to come? Now? From Jason? Or do you want to switch before that? _When_ do you want to switch?" Will asked, but the questions were too difficult for Nico to comprehend right now.

He didn't _know_.

Both Percy and Will gazed at him, clearly expecting an answer Nico was unable to give, and he felt his face heating in shame.

To cover up for it, he let out a small huff and moved down their bodies to get to the first zipper he found and tugged it open, drawing a surprised gasp from Percy as he sat up and exclaimed something along the lines of 'You don't have to!', which Nico pointedly ignored.

Jason shifted and pulled him back by his hips so he could stretch out again as he pulled Percy's dick out, which he was more than a little grateful for.

"I'm gonna suck." He warned, then wondered whether Percy would understand what he had meant, though he didn't look up to check as he leaned down and wrapped his lips around the tip, while the rest of his body still bounced back and forth with each of Jason's thrusts.

Giving a blowjob while having sex was…unsurprisingly difficult.

He kept wanting to moan and hide his face, but both was impossible, as well as going too far down on Percy's dick due to the lack of air and his own frantic panting.

But he did his best, and Percy's desperate mewl was more praise than he could have ever asked for.

"Nico!" Percy exclaimed sharply when Nico sucked on his tip, while Jason let out a sharp hiss the moment Nico thrust back against him insistently.

Everybody always acted as if the person taking it was submissive and weak compared to the top, but he felt perfectly in charge right now.

He opened his eyes to look for Will, but Will had disappeared from Percy's side, and it took a long moment for Nico to register that his boyfriend was now behind him as well, doing gods knew what, though he thought he could hear a lid opening/closing again.

"Nico, Jason and I are going to switch." Will declared, making Nico moan and arch his back further in clear invitation and utmost anticipation.

"What is Jason going to do?" He asked dazedly as he pulled off Percy's dick for a moment, while Jason seemed to decide _now_ was the perfect time to give Nico exactly what he had begged for all this time, thrusting into him quickly and deeply and wildly and _ugh_ , Nico was _dying_.

Or maybe he was flying, the sensations seemed fairly similar right about now.

"Do you have anything in mind for Jason?" Will asked, apparently catching on to Nico's thoughts before Nico even had said thoughts, himself.

His head snapped back to Percy, who was panting heavily, his upper body propped up by his arms and his eyes heavy-lidded as they seemed glued to Nico.

He didn't even know whether Percy was listening at all.

"Percy, top or bottom?" He blurted, and Percy blinked at him in bemusement, before he seemed to catch on, his eyes hushing to Jason as his lips parted and let out a small, needy moan.

"Oh yes, please." He breathed instead of replying, and Jason let out a small, possessive growl and thrust into Nico harder – though whether that was because of Percy, because of Nico, or because Will was trying to switch with him, Nico didn't know.

And he honestly couldn't care less as he pressed his chest against Percy's legs and pushed his butt up and back as much as he could, a needy mewl escaping him before he remembered he had started a blowjob that wasn't yet finished.

Nico started licking along Percy's length, trying to make use of all the extra saliva in his mouth right now, and from the keening sound Percy made in reply, he was doing something right.

He was about to wonder whether Jason and Will had changed their minds about switching, when Jason suddenly – _very_ suddenly – pulled back, leaving Nico to thrust back into air and let out a sound of utmost despair and betrayal, which had Percy shivering and whining as well.

Jason was panting heavily behind him, but then there was Will, and Will had this way of stroking over Nico's lower back that had him relaxing again, though he let out a string of curses anyways, pleading with Will in Italian to hurry up.

Will leaned over him, his chest brushing against Nico's back as his lips found Nico's shoulder blade, giving him a series of gentle kisses as he stroked along his lower back, then moved his hands to his sides, burning his skin and making him shiver – and slowly bringing him back from the edge he had been treading, the tension and heat in his lower stomach easing.

Nico let out a long, shaky breath, then he gave a small nod to show he was okay, before leaning back down to wrap his lips around Percy's dick again, who mewled in surprise and now seemed to struggle between wanting to drop into the blankets or sit up entirely.

Nico knew that struggle only all too well.

"I'll push in now." Will announced behind him and he hummed to show he had heard, causing Percy to let out a shaky moan.

Then, it was Nico who was moaning as Will slid inside him slowly and effortlessly, already beginning to thrust into him at a steady pace.

"Gods, _Nico_ , you feel so good…how does it feel for you?" Will asked, though he should be able to tell just fine how Nico was feeling right now, so Nico allowed himself to pant and moan a few moments longer before collecting himself enough to reply.

" _Good_. Really good." He breathed – the understatement of the year – but Will didn't seem to mind.

He more felt than saw Jason moving along his side towards Percy, which had him picking up his blowjob again hurriedly to get the most out of it.

"Faster?" Will asked, and Nico licked up Percy's length to his tip with a messy moan.

" _Yes_!" He gasped needily, then wrapped his lips around Percy's tip, who promptly bucked his hips and moaned, pre-cum spilling onto Nico's tongue.

Will grabbed him firmer and started picking up his pace, moaning just like Nico was, though he tried to keep it down in order to not interrupt his blowjob anymore – but then he had to interrupt it anyways, because Jason was claiming Percy as his, kissing him and getting his leg in the way for Nico to work correctly.

It took a moment – and Will slowing down and _stopping_ again, which Nico did _not_ appreciate – for them to work things out between them, then Will urged the four of them to lay down, since that allowed Percy and Nico to still get their hands on each other, while Jason and Will could both top without too much of a hassle.

Nico was more than mildly inconvenienced by all of this, but the moment he and Percy were kissing and Will slid inside him once more, everything was forgotten as the pleasure was right back.

Jason let out a low growl again and bit Percy's shoulder, who cried against Nico's lips and thrust his hips back – and while Nico had known watching them always got under his skin, he hadn't known how good it would feel to watch them _and_ have sex himself at the same time.

"Fuck, can we do this more often?" Percy groaned, his pupils dilated and his eyes heavy-lidded, though he seemed to refuse to close them completely, instead staring at Nico, staring at Will, staring at them.

"We're not even done yet, Percy." Will chided breathlessly, the smile audible in his voice, and Nico mewled and thrust against him as he pushed his hands downwards and around Percy's dick.

"Are you okay with this, Will?" He heard Jason asking, but the question made no sense to him, though he also didn't try to figure it out once Will replied with a panted 'More than fine, this feels freaking amazing'.

Percy moaned and first tried to thrust into Nico's fist around his dick, then back against Jason, though he then settled for pulling Nico closer and moving his hand to join in and thread his fingers together with Nico's in order to fit around both their dicks at the same time, while Will hissed in complaint behind him and shifted closer again.

He hit Nico's sweet spot by apparent accident, though Nico's frantic moan and plea for more had him mimicking the move again immediately, set on pleasing Nico, which was already more than enough to please Nico and had him rolling his hips both for Will and for himself.

The moment Will let out a breathy cry of bliss, Percy copied the movement and promptly made Jason bite his shoulder again, his movements a lot less fluid than Will's, but in return a lot more aggressive, which had Nico's skin tingling and explained Percy's building tension as he neared the edge even before Nico did.

Everything was happening so quickly, but at the same time, everything seemed to slow down around Nico as he and Percy clutched each other and stroked their dicks in a quick, thrilling rhythm that still couldn't match Jason's and/or Will's movements behind them.

Will had his lips against the side of Nico's neck now, dragging his tongue over his skin before sucking a mark onto it, while Jason had lost his glasses at some point and was busy wrapping himself around Percy to fuck him harder, both their bodies vibrating with tension and the effort not to blow yet.

It was odd, how not in sync they were, yet how everything seemed to match, anyways, even though it really shouldn't.

Percy's hands shot up to cup Nico's face, and Nico was left to stroking them by himself as Percy rushed forward and crashed their lips together messily, needily, desperately.

Jason let out a jumbled mess of indistinguishable words with his face buried in Percy's hair, but the meaning was understood, anyways, and Nico was pretty sure all three of them were nodding in response, though Percy didn't break their kiss.

In fact, it seemed he was trying to ground himself through their kiss, so Nico decided this was the perfect moment to take revenge for all the times Percy had pushed him over the edge mercilessly.

He licked his way into Percy's mouth and squeezed the tip of his leaking dick teasingly, rubbing the pre-cum all over it as he pushed against Percy and dominated him mercilessly, turning him into even more of a mess than he already was, now clutching him for dear life.

Will let out a ghost of a laugh behind him, seemingly knowing full well what he was doing, and Nico's free hand moved up Percy's body to his chest to give his nipple a tentative squeeze.

Percy came.

It seemed to come as a surprise to him, his sounds unmuffled and his expression shocked before the bliss took over, and Nico watched in awe how Jason followed right after with what sounded like a choked sob, the sounds as well as the unmasked view of their expressions going right into Nico's groin and making his dick twitch and leak pre-cum.

He was about to warn Will, when Will was the one shivering and crying out loudly, gasping against Nico's skin and beginning to babble behind him, his words frantic and wild just like his movements.

"Will, please tell me you're about to come." Nico moaned, unable to make sense of what Will was saying, but more than willing to give him indirect permission should he need it.

Will nodded wildly behind him, letting out another small cry as his arm wrapped around Nico's midriff to pull him against him harshly, before his other arm suddenly moved under Nico and his hand took over Nico's stroking of his dick, picking up the pace and pressure.

Percy and Jason were still in the middle of their orgasm, but Percy allowed Nico to clutch him in return, his sounds becoming messier and more and more urgent as he mumbled out a warning to Will that had Will nodding along and biting Nico's neck with a sound as if he was trying his hardest to hold back.

It was that very thought that made Nico let go and come, his orgasm knocking the breath right out of him as he moaned loudly and curled around Will's hold on him, while Will immediately followed suite with a sharp cry and his face pressed against Nico's shoulder blade.

Nico's entire body was trembling and overly sensitive, to the point where he could swear he felt Will's dick twitching as he came inside him – or, well, the condom, inside him, blah, whatever, unimportant.

What was important was that Will caught him as he slumped back into him weakly, taking forever to come down from his high, though the others were faring similarly, with Percy and Jason still panting with closed eyes and clutching each other, so Nico was in no rush.

Silence settled over them, only interrupted by the occasional whimper whenever they moved and brushed against a hypersensitive spot or stretched their quickly stiffening limbs in the cold they only now became aware of.

Then, Nico let out a loud, satisfied sigh, and Will started chuckling quietly.

"I'm with Percy, I'd like to try this again sometime." He whispered, not wanting to disturb the peaceful silence around them too much, and also not trusting his voice to work without cracking.

"Same here. Oh gods, you guys feel…absolutely amazing. Enjoyed it so much." Will rasped, not even trying to make his voice work tight, and Nico automatically started counting syllables in his head, smirking to himself when his hunch was once more confirmed.

"I loved it." Percy whispered, sounding as floored as Nico felt, while Jason started trailing gentle kisses along his neck and shoulder, his gentle and affectionate side showing again.

"I'd like to try again sometime, as well." He agreed with them, and Nico exchanged a fond look with him, before deciding to take on the mighty challenge of leaning forward and giving him a gentle kiss.

Jason hummed happily, then started mouthing at the corners of Nico's lips jokingly, while Percy let out a small giggle and Will a deep sigh.

"Okay, but guys, we have a problem." Will announced, and the three of them turned their heads towards him with raised eyebrows, the mirth in his voice too audible for them to take him seriously.

Will looked them square in the eyes.

"I don't want to pull out."

Nico snorted out a small laugh and pulled away from him, which made him wail loudly, while Percy and Jason started giggling just like Nico and Will had earlier.

Oh? So all it took for them to join them in their craziness was a good orgasm?

Nico would have to remember that for next time.

"How could you, Nico? It felt so nice and warm and protected!" Will lamented with a pout, but Nico merely turned around (which was excruciatingly difficult, might he mention) and gave him a small peck on the nose, which effectively shut him up and made him smile at him fondly – before he started giggling, too.

Nico tried to look serious for the longest five seconds he had ever witnessed, then he, too, joined in.

"What a night." Jason breathed behind them in what sounded like amazement, and Nico couldn't agree more.

What. A. Night.

"Well, more like morning now. Sun is coming up already." Will mused, but Nico put his hand over his mouth to shush him.

"It's night. We still have _hours_ until we have to get up." He insisted stubbornly, because they all knew what would await them once they had to leave the cabin and start into their days.

There was a moment of silence in which they all thought of this, then they started giggling again and Percy, Nico and Will snuggled together, while Jason disposed of the condoms and emptied out everything inside Will's jacket pockets to find the tissues for a very rushed and not really thorough clean-up that made them glad they were laying on one of their least-favorite and least-used blankets, since nobody would miss it if it took forever to get washed.

Percy was the first to whine about missing Jason, which only came as a surprise to Jason, so Will and Nico promptly chimed in and pulled him into their midst as he got one of the discarded, thicker blankets to cover them up with.

"Here we go, babe. We need to sleep, Nico is right." Will mused as he wrapped his arms around Nico and Jason, while Percy wrapped himself around Jason from the other side, his foot tapping against Nico's leg as he threw it over him as well.

Dork.

"I'm always right." Nico insisted as he nudged Percy's foot and they shared an amused look before giggling, while Jason let out a satisfied sigh and Will chuckled.

"My line, Nico. _I'm_ always right. You're just smart enough to agree with me, that's why you happen to be right as well."

Even bigger dork.

Nico intended to say something smart, or tease him, or pick a playful argument or whatever.

But the moment he opened his mouth, he started laughing, instead, and Will joined in.

Then, all four of them were laughing, giggling, poking at each other and giggling even more, about everything and nothing, while the stars disappeared overhead and the sun rose in the distance.

It was a beautiful morning.

Nico still insisted it was night.

Though he doubted they'd do any sleeping that 'night' anymore, anyways.

"Satisfied, now?" Percy asked with an affectionate, yet curious look, and Nico poked his nose with a grin and his shoulders still shaking from his giggling.

" _Very_."


	13. Chapter 13: An Uneventful Day

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D Let's hope 2017 wll go easy on us, shall we?

Here comes another unedited chapter, so read at your own risk ^-^

I can't guarantee next week's update, seeing as I'll start my new job tomorrow, but let's see how it works out ;o  
On another note, this story will only have 3 more chapters.

So, yeah, let's enjoy the fluff while it lasts :D

Wish you all the best and a good start into 2017,  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 13: An Uneventful Day Full of Events**

Nico hummed to himself, tapping his pen against his lips as he tried to remember the exact words, before writing them down in his best handwriting he could manage.

So, that would be…the last one…

Smirking to himself rather pleased, he hummed a little louder and snapped his album shut, glancing around the empty cabin and half wishing he could have somebody to share his good mood with.

But he was the first one done with his chores of the day, so that meant he'd have to suffer by himself for at least two or three more hours.

He supposed he _could_ go outside and look for some of their other friends, but chances were they'd be busy.

There were plenty of Camp activities and other stuff to do, after all.

There was no Capture the Flag game today since the infirmary was already overflowing, but still, there was plenty to do.

Nico had tried to offer Will his help so he could _maybe_ get out early, too, but Will had sent him straight home and told him he wouldn't allow him to work himself to the bone – while ignoring the fact that he himself was doing that very thing day in day out lately.

Stubborn fool.

Nico loved him.

He also loved his Haikus he came up with after sex.

Glancing back at his photo album and stroking over it fondly, Nico wondered vaguely whether he should tell Will about that.

So far, Will didn't seem to really have noticed that, himself – at least Nico had gotten that impression after asking about it once and only getting an unbothered and uncaring shrug in response.

There was the sound of footsteps, then rustling and the sound of keys pushing into the lock of their cabin, and Nico looked up curiously, wondering who that could be.

Percy should still be busy with the kids and training, and he wasn't expecting Will outside of the infirmary until dinner tonight, so it could only really be…

"Oh, hey Nico. Did you get out early, too?" Jason asked with an almost relieved expression on his face, and Nico was glad Jason felt the same way about being by himself as he did.

"Yeah, apparently somebody messed up the training schedule and my last two lessons overlapped with several others, so I cancelled them. How about you?" He explained and got up from his place at the small desk to move over to Jason and give him their usual peck on the lips, even if he lingered a little longer just because he could.

Jason hummed contently and kissed him again with closed eyes as he took off his shoes, his hands finding Nico's arms and stroking over them, apparently enjoying the feel of his bare skin.

It was definitely too warm for sweaters by now, as sad as it was.

Nico would never get used to the bright orange of their Camp shirts.

"Annabeth is getting frustrated with the lack of new input and information, so we ended the meeting early." Jason explained with a small shrug, then wrapped his arms around Nico with a tired sigh and tugged him into a lazy hug.

Jason needed a lot of hugs lately, especially after these meetings.

It reminded Nico a bit of Will's urges to 'recharge', and just like with him, Nico was always happy to help, patting Jason's back in consolation.

"So, what have you been up to?" Jason asked as he nuzzled his face against the side of Nico's, making him chuckle at the slightly tickling sensation, though it usually was much worse when he had his hair open.

"Nothing much. I worked on my photo albums a bit. Want to lay down for a while? There's really not much else to do right now, unless you want to tidy up even more."

Not that this place really needed it, since Jason already got them to do the chores more regularly and more thoroughly.

Seriously, they'd be screwed without Jason, and they all knew it.

Jason let out a wistful sigh.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea." He replied and Nico threaded their fingers together to tug him after him towards their bed, nudging his laptop aside that laid open and on the very middle of it, before he flopped down into the bed facedown.

Jason huffed out a small laugh but copied him, heaving a heavy sigh and remaining facedown for a long moment, before he rolled to the side and wrapped himself around Nico, who was watching him with a small smile and the hint of worry gnawing on him.

"Have I ever mentioned I love this bed?" Jason asked and Nico shook his head with the smile still playing on his lips, shuffling closer to cuddle.

Jason wasn't sleeping well lately.

Nico hadn't noticed until Will had pointed it out in passing, since he was the one usually sleeping the longest, but the fatigue rolling off Jason hadn't escaped him.

"And I love it when you're in it." Nico replied, mostly because it was the truth and he refused to waste the opportunity to say it, but also because he adored the way Jason's face brightened every time they tried to be as cheesy as he was.

"You know what I also love?" Jason asked, his voice low and quiet and seductive, and Nico grinned to himself.

"What?" He asked, unable _not_ to go along with it.

"You." Jason replied with a cheesy smile, and Nico let out a weak laugh, shaking his head to himself as he snuggled closer to his boyfriend, deciding to bear the heat for his sake.

"I bet. I love you too, you giant sap. I'm starting to agree with Percy, you're just a really big softie."

"I never said I wasn't." Jason admitted with a shrug, and they both propped up their heads to gaze at each other better as they started chatting – first about the other Campers and the schedules, then about all the things they could do to make the most of the space in their cabin.

It was nice, being with Jason like this.

Jason was more quiet and reserved than Percy and Will, which made him a lot like Nico in some ways, and thus spending time together usually consisted of quiet, peaceful moments such as these.

They didn't get up for a long time, simply laying sideways in bed and chatting until their stomachs started grumbling, then they gave up on their failed attempt of a nap (though it had been worth it) and went to pick up an afternoon snack, since it was still a bit early for dinner.

He enjoyed spending time with Jason alone.

Needless to say, he loved spending time with all of his boyfriends, but when he was alone with Jason, there was no need for noise or playful bickering or the struggle to get closer, they simply walked peacefully side by side with their fingers threaded together, sometimes talking, sometimes silent.

A couple of campers greeted them on the way, some from Nico's training groups, some from Jason's meetings, but nobody stopped to talk, which Nico was grateful for.

With Will, people often stopped to chat or ask something about the infirmary or medication or other people, while everybody loved making small-talk with Percy every here and there (or to tease him, which seemed the favorite pastime of _everybody_ ).

Jason usually fell victim to the same thing, but right now, he was talking to Nico, and it was as if he emanated an aura of 'I am busy, do not speak to me' that made everybody else merely greet them and leave immediately again.

Nico found it immensely useful.

Also, he loved it when Jason looked at him so intently and just _listened_ , no matter whether Nico was talking about actually important things like what he had so far thought of for the whole 'closing your mind'-thing he had yet to work out somehow, or whether he was telling Jason about his growing frustration with pop-up advertisement whenever he tried to search for something on the internet.

"You know, that reminds me Leo _still_ hasn't come over to put up the A/C." Nico grumbled as they walked into the dining pavilion, which was busy as always, though most of the people were either chatting or playing board or card games rather than eating.

"Do you want to go by his place later?" Jason offered, but Nico wasn't sure when Percy would get out, and he always wanted to be home then.

Not because Percy would be upset to find them out and about, but because Percy always had a peculiar mood after training – he seemed exhausted, but more mentally than physically.

Nico knew Will and Jason already seemed to be onto that, but he couldn't help but worry, anyways, so he tried to be there for him as best as he could.

"We can also wait for Percy and then go to see Leo." Jason suggested as if reading his mind, and Nico nodded with a small smile.

"I think that would be for the best."

"Or we could tell Piper we're up for another sleepover and have it at our place, then Leo would probably get to it immediately once he knows how much we have to suffer in there when it's warm." Jason pointed out and Nico threw him a scandalized look.

"Most definitely _not_!"

One sleepover had _definitely_ been more than enough.

Sure, there had been fun moments, and it had been interesting to experience so many people playing together – not to mention the night on Jason's rooftop had been _amazing_ – but Nico was never going to forget all the embarrassing and mortifying things he had said, done, witnessed and heard that night.

Those would last for a lifetime, so he was perfectly fine with leaving that as a one-time experience.

Jason chuckled, his thumb stroking over Nico's hand.

"Just joking. Do you really think Will would allow all of his siblings into our cabin?"

Probably not.

"They'd find all the hidden packs of condoms and not get out of their whooping and dramatics." Nico replied darkly, which gave Jason pause for a moment as they sat down at the Zeus table.

"That…actually, I didn't even think of that. I was more concerned about them inspecting everything and teasing Will to the point where he'd either kick them out on the spot or try and murder them – especially when it comes to us sharing a bed."

Yes, the Apollo cabin definitely didn't know how to shut up about that, though he could have sworn they sounded more concerned than teasing whenever they pointed out that their bed was most definitely too small for four people at the same time.

"Who knows, maybe they're planning on getting us a new bed, but are uncertain whether we actually want one." He mused thoughtfully, which made Jason hum and put his sandwich down.

"That is actually a very real possibility. At least it would explain a few things. Did you know they are trying to save up money? I heard from Lou Ellen that _all_ Apollo kids except Will are currently offering mini-jobs around Camp, including lessons for singing, composing, rhyming and musical instruments, as well as actual performances. For pretty cheap prices, too."

That was news to Nico, though he couldn't say he was very surprised.

"Maybe they're just trying to pay off some debt they made by betting again. You know they love to bet on anything and everything." Nico pointed out, though it did seem odd that the whole cabin would participate.

Jason hummed thoughtfully as they ate their food in relative silence, leaning against each other slightly and gazing off into space, their hands still linked between them.

"But if they wanted to get us a bed or the like, wouldn't it be easier to just go to Leo?" Nico then wondered aloud, and Jason gave a small shrug.

"Maybe they did, but he needs money to buy parts?"

"In that case, shouldn't we tell them to drop it? I mean, it's not like we _need_ anything, and I wouldn't be comfortable knowing they went through so much trouble just for us…" Nico said quietly, glancing back towards the Apollo table, though it was mostly deserted now, with everybody out and about or at practice.

"I can try mention something to Kayla, if you want. I don't think Will has noticed anything so far, which is unusual since he usually knows everything before it even happens, but-…"

"Did you notice he's having visions?" Nico interrupted, suddenly remembering what Percy had told him during their last Capture the Flag game, when the two of them had stuck with the flag to give the rest of their team a chance to prove themselves in offense and defense.

Jason frowned at him, searching his gaze for something Nico didn't know.

"You mean next to his nightmares?" Jason asked, and Nico shrugged.

"Apparently? Percy said he noticed Will spacing out a few times lately, mumbling something under his breath, just to have that very thing happen moments later." He explained, shivering at the memory.

Percy had told him about that in a tentative, probing tone, as if hoping for confirmation, but Nico couldn't remember witnessing any such thing, at least not in such a blatantly obvious way as Percy had made it sound.

"Did you notice anything like that as well?" He asked cautiously, though he wasn't sure what he wanted to hear.

Jason shrugged, looking more conflicted than anything else as they pushed their plates away and got up, sandwiches still in hand as they made their way slowly out of the dining pavilion and across the Camp grounds again, both of them following their own lines of thought.

"Well, I know _something_ is up. He does keep mentioning visions and the like as well, but I was under the impression all of that happened in his sleep, not while he was awake." Jason mused after a while, then nodded towards the lake with a questioning glance, so Nico nodded and they made their way there instead of back towards the cabins.

"Same here. But Percy said Will didn't seem _surprised_ about it or anything. He just spaced out, mumbled something, then continued on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened."

When Nico said it like that, it even sounded as if it was nothing out of the ordinary – if it didn't also involve seeing the future and whatnot, which made the entire thing absolutely creepy, in Nico's opinion.

"So, he doesn't remember?" Jason asked, but Nico hesitated.

"I don't know, you'll have to ask Percy about that. But don't you…don't you think it's strange?" He asked hesitantly, and Jason's thumb stroked over his hand again.

"That our boyfriend has visions, or that he once more refuses to inform us?" Jason asked with a hint of bitterness in his voice, and Nico sighed.

"Both, I guess? I mean, Rachel said she can't see _anything_ , Jason. And Will has these nightmares, some other visionary dreams he keeps hinting at but never talks about, and now he starts seeing glimpses of the future? I don't like it. I don't like it at all." He grumbled, looking out over the lake as they walked along the path side by side, everything warm and colorful and too bright for Nico's liking, but he had long accepted the fact it wasn't winter anymore.

"I just wished he'd _talk_ to us about it, Jason. Of course he's trying, we all know he is, but why can't he just…just…" Nico gestured vaguely, then let out a heavy sigh and they stopped walking so he could slump against Jason slightly.

"I know. But he's giving his best, Nico. We just have to be patient."

Nico didn't want to be patient.

"The more time passes, the more it feels like he really _is_ some sort of key figure in what's to come. _And we don't even know what's to come_! How am I supposed to protect him, Jason, if he doesn't tell me anything?" He only dared to whisper, unwilling to let anybody else overhear.

Jason sighed and turned towards him to wrap his arms around him and tug him into a warm, comforting hug.

"We'll manage somehow, Nico. You're not alone, Percy and I are here as well, after all. As long as we stick together and watch out for one another, we'll be fine, I'm certain. We just have to give him more time. Who knows, maybe he _can't_ actually talk about it. Maybe the hints at his visions are all he can give to show us they're happening. Maybe he doesn't know about the visions Percy witnessed."

It sounded so simple when Jason said that.

'Just give him time, he'll come to us.'

'Maybe he can't help it.'

'He's giving his best.'

Nico let out a loud, frustrated groan.

"But what if he _does_ know, Jason? You know him. What if he knows something really important, but it's really bad, so he doesn't want to tell us? You _know_ how he is, Jason. He would rather carry all the burdens in the world by himself than tell us anything that might upset us."

As exaggerated as it sounded, it was the truth, and that alone made Nico even more upset than he already was.

"Then we'll simply have to show him we won't be upset, no matter what it is." Jason said softly, understanding as always, and Nico grumbled again.

"The more time passes, the more upset I get, though."

Jason remained unimpressed and unmoved, rubbing up and down his back in consolation, even though it was getting way too warm to keep this hug up much longer.

How could people stand being outside in this heat, anyways?

"Understandable. But you know it's not his fault if he does have visions, right?"

He hated it when Jason used his logic against him like this.

"But it's his fault he's not telling us. We could _help_ him, Jason. Somehow. Maybe."

"I'm confident he'll tell us if we're meant to know." Jason said simply, and Nico wished he could have that confidence, that patience, that attitude.

"Do you really think so?" He asked hesitantly, clinging to Jason a moment longer before it was _definitely_ too warm, then he stepped away to breathe again, tugging on his shirt to get some cool air on his skin.

"Yes. Will might like to drag things out until the last possible moment, but he did get better, didn't he? He just needs time." Jason said confidently, but that only made Nico sigh loudly and gesture again as they continued on their way around the lake.

"Time, huh? You know, he told me he doesn't have time, so how does that work?" He remarked dryly, but Jason only shrugged and threaded their fingers together again.

"I don't know. But I'm sure everything will work out as long as we show him we'll always be there for him, no matter what."

Nico sighed loudly, shaking his head to himself.

"You're amazing, Jason. I could never be like you."

Jason laughed at that, the sound beautiful as always.

"Good. You are perfect the way you are, after all. We wouldn't want you any other way." Jason stated, successfully making Nico stumble and nearly crash into the ground if it hadn't been for Jason holding him.

"You _sap_!"

"Indeed. Is there any time of the day you guys _aren't_ all cheesy and horrible?" A voice remarked behind them in an amused tone and they looked around in surprise to spot Leo, who was holding a bouquet of various flowers in one hand, and a half-assembled mechanical skull in the other, which seemed like a strange mix, but Nico had seen weirder things.

"Leo!" He and Jason exclaimed simultaneously, exchanging a pointed look and inching closer immediately.

"Uh, hi? I saw you hugging so I thought I'd come check you're alright. The Apollo kids would murder if they heard something was wrong with you guys, after all. But you seem perfectly fine, so I'll just return to-…"

"Nope." Nico interrupted and hooked an arm through Leo's on one side, while Jason took to the other.

"Now that you're already here, you can totally get to the A/C you promised us _months ago_." Jason chirped from his other side as Leo still tried to catch on.

But by the time he did, they were already almost at their cabin.

 _Finally_ , they'd get their air conditioning.

Percy was bound to love that, so that would definitely lift his spirits – and who knew, maybe it would lift Will's spirits too and make him confide into them some more.

After all, miracles did happen, as Nico had to find out repeatedly over the past year, with Percy making the Advent Calendar for him, the four of them dating, Leo appearing to finally install their A/C…

Jason was right, he'd just have to be more patient.

Will would surely tell them if there was something wrong, he just had to believe in it and show him he could trust them.

All they needed was more time.

Nico hoped they had that time.

...

"Why, if it isn't my least favorite brother." Zeus grumbled listlessly, but Hades acted as if he hadn't heard him, wondering just _why_ he had decided to do this.

"There you are, Zeus! I almost didn't see you in your throne there." He replied as sweetly and nicely as he could, and patted himself on the shoulder mentally.

Yes, this was going great.

"How kind of you to invite me." He added, because unlike his son, he had good manners.

Zeus huffed, looking ready to pick a fight Hades would _love_ to see through, but unfortunately, they were meeting for a reason.

"So, where is Poseidon? I was under the impression he would come, as well?" He asked in a neutral tone, though he could think of plenty other things he'd much rather do than meet _both_ of his brothers on the same day, outside of the official meetings he had to attend.

That's what a messed-up upbringing, several assassination attempts, his expulsion from Olympus and their millennia-old rivalry did to a god – it destroyed family bonds that had never even existed in the first place.

Maybe things would have been better if gods had the same customs as mortals and sent each other greeting cards by occasion.

Apparently, that showed one 'cared'.

Hades contemplated that while Zeus started bellowing about the unreliability of their brother and how he had better things to do than waste his afternoon here with them.

Nico had sent him a Christmas card as well, after all.

Maybe, if he had sent Zeus a jolly little card every here and there, he wouldn't have taken things quite as personally now and again.

"Hades! Are you even listening?!" Zeus called, sounding offended, and Hades hurriedly tried to look as attentive as Jason Grace when Hades had deliberately told him his most boring stories to test his determination and persistence.

"Why, of course, brother. So, how are you faring up here, with all the light and the gods and no responsibilities?" He asked brightly, and Zeus studied him grimly for a long moment, before waving off with a sigh.

"Oh, don't treat me like a fool, Hades. I know you care as much about this place as I care about what you do with all the lost souls in your realm."

Hades hesitated, not quite sure how much Zeus actually cared about his work, though he leaned more towards an entire lack of care.

Plus, what was Zeus playing at, there were no _lost_ souls in Hades' realm!

Just…souls that had not yet had the fortune to get judged, which might be roaming his realm because they had long forgotten who they were, where they had come from, where they had to go…

But there was a difference!

Hades was about to change the topic to the weather and the crops, because his mother-in-law always insisted everybody (except Hades, apparently) _loved_ talking about the weather and crops.

Luckily, he was spared that fate by the big doors banging open and Poseidon walking in, his hair windswept and his clothes as… _fashionable_ …as always.

So that's where the Jackson kid got it from.

"Hello there, dear brothers! I am so sorry for the delay, but I was held up. I assume you two did some catching up without me? Great!" Poseidon greeted them loudly and moved to his own throne swiftly to sit down with a satisfied grunt, which peeved Hades even more as his place had once more been 'temporarily removed'.

'For cleaning purposes' Zeus had insisted gravely, shortly after Demeter had assured him it was 'only because they needed more space for the party' – a party Hades hadn't been invited to, but hey, he was above such things now.

A few hundred years ago, he might have been upset, but now he had learned to live with his family's harassment and make the best of it.

Hades frowned in distaste at the colorful shirt and shorts Poseidon was wearing, trying to make the best of _that_.

Well, at least nobody made _him_ wear that.

"Oh yes, it was very amusing. We had the time of our lives here. You definitely missed out, dear brother. Though I have to wonder how you can be late for an appointment _you_ set the time for?" Zeus first tried to bait Poseidon, then fell back into snapping at him, and Hades just knew this would be a long meeting.

Poseidon merely shrugged, clearly not caring for their brother's moods.

"As I said, I was held up. Now, what got your toga in a twist, Hades? It's unusual for you to call up a meeting, as 'busy' as you always claim you are with the management of the Underworld – unless you want us to help you take care of your place, in which case I'm telling you now I'll be right out of here again in an instant." Poseidon stated, pointing one finger at him and studying him almost as intently as Zeus had earlier.

Hades was used to that, too.

"I can take care of the Underworld by myself, but thanks for your kindness, brother. I shall remember it when the time comes." He replied curtly, because he had better things to do than let his brothers poke fun at how he dealt with his responsibilities.

Poseidon made a face, but then gave a nod that conveyed a 'Fair enough' and crossed his arms in front of his chest as he leaned back, one leg thrown over the other.

Zeus lounged in his throne as well, which only made Hades feel even worse about being the only one standing.

Persephone would have probably stomped her foot and demanded a throne worthy of her presence, but Hades wasn't quite as straight-forward as she was, so he decided to simply swallow his pride and stand.

"As you probably know by now, our sons are-…"

"Alive and well at Camp, last time I checked. Why? Is there another _prophecy_ that popped up out of nowhere that risks my son's life? Nope, I don't think so." Poseidon cut in, and Hades bit his tongue as to not snap back at him.

If there was one thing he hated more than Percy Jackson, it was his father and his tendency to interrupt Hades at each and every turn.

"Poseidon, let him talk." Zeus chided, probably just aiming to behave like the mature one of them.

Unfortunately for Zeus, they all knew he had caused a giant stormfront just last week merely because somebody had squinted up at the sky and Zeus had felt personally offended – which certainly didn't sound very mature.

If Hades behaved this way with the dead…he'd have no dead left, because they'd all be incinerated and/or erased – which might ease his workload, but his wife would end him, and that definitely wasn't worth it.

Hades was about to thank Zeus, but then his brother added a derisive 'I want to know what nonsense he came up with this time' and Hades ground his teeth, instead.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted so crudely, our sons are _dating_." He said sharply, just to find both of the gods in front of him sitting up straighter, staring at him as if he had just announced he was running for president.

(Because, apparently, _anybody_ could run for president these days, no matter how ill-fitted they might be for the position.)

"My son is _what_?!" Zeus suddenly bellowed, then frowned.

"Wait, I think Aphrodite might have mentioned something like that. Jason, right? Brother of my Thalia, who has decided to throw away her heritage and become a _hunter_ …oh well…" Zeus trailed off with a heavy sigh, then tapped his chin.

"But wait, I thought this was just a mild infatuation? What does _your son_ have to offer to gain my boy's affection?!"

Hades gazed back at Zeus, feeling vaguely like those men in his wife's TV shows when they were surrounded by idiots.

"I thought Percy was seeing that daughter of Athena? I had to actually be nice to that woman the last time I saw her!" Poseidon exclaimed indignantly, and Hades wondered if burying his face in his hands would make him feel better.

He decided not to try, instead taking a deep breath.

"When is the last time you two have checked on your children?" He asked quietly, and both men shrunk back in visible shame.

Ah. What great parents.

And there they wondered why demigods didn't want to fight their fights anymore.

"The restoration of my realm is taking longer than expected! Perseus hasn't contacted me in any way other than to ask for a minor favor with this one boy that I couldn't help, so I didn't pry!" Poseidon defended himself immediately, while Zeus sputtered a moment longer.

"Same as him!" He then exclaimed and gestured towards Poseidon vaguely, who threw him a dark look.

"You have no place to fix! Everything here is sparkling and clean! It is _my_ realm that is in shatters, thanks to _you_ not-…"

"Let's not go there right now. Our sons are dating. That is what matters right now, as it plays a part in what I called this meeting up for." Hades interrupted before the two of them would start to fight too much, and they both turned to glower at him.

Yeah, well, he could glower _better_.

Nico had once complimented his glowering skills, after all, back when he had been in the Underworld more often (and talked about Percy Jackson nonstop), so Hades was confident he could one-up his brothers easily when it came to this.

"What, all three of them?" Poseidon asked, ending their glowering match before it had even started as he sounded more than a little surprised, which in turn made Zeus laugh in pride and delight.

"Why, of course! My son would not be satisfied by just _one_ tiny person!"

Hades decided to ignore the jab at Nico's height.

He was still growing.

One day, he would be taller than Jason Grace himself, and then Hades would pay Zeus a visit and tease him relentlessly about it.

"All _four_ of them, actually." He replied, and was promptly met with blank stares once more.

Oh, by Chaos and everything that held this world together, when was the last time these two even as much as _looked at the Camp_?!

"Jason Grace, Percy Jackson, my son and Will Solace are in a relationship." He said patiently, spelling it out for them so they couldn't get it wrong in any sort of way.

Both of them merely hummed in reply, their expressions still blank.

"Who is Will Solace?" Zeus then asked with a frown, and Hades wished his wife was here.

"You know, I think I remember something about Percy talking about your son in his prayers a lot, but this is news to me. How long have they been liaised, again?" Poseidon put in thoughtfully, stroking his beard as he studied Hades' lack thereof.

"Wait, isn't Will Solace that puny kid with the blonde hair?" Zeus asked with a snap of his fingers, looking immensely smug with himself.

Hades narrowed his eyes, wondering whether that had been a lucky guess or not.

"Nearly two months, if I recall correctly, though they have been building towards it from the beginning of the year. The three have been in love with Nico for much longer, but the Jackson kid ultimately managed to ask him out first." He explained patiently, taking comfort in the knowledge his wife would visit him later and fill the empty halls with her laughter when she heard about all of this.

"Ha! That's my boy!" Poseidon instantly yelled elatedly, while Zeus grumbled and told him to tone it down, before adding a sulky 'I bet the kid craved my son more than yours'.

Hades decided to ignore both.

He was about to continue, when Zeus suddenly held up a hand.

"Wait, I thought Will Solace was dead. Didn't he die in the last battle? What is this, are you allowing souls back into the living realm just because your son fancies them?!" He asked in outrage, and Hades stared at him in confusion.

The only people that were currently getting away with living even though they should have been dead were his daughter Hazel, the imp, and the girl from the Roman Camp.

At least demigod-wise, anyways.

"Will Solace has never died, to my knowledge. He is son of Apollo. A healer. Blonde hair, blue eyes? He glows a lot." Hades elaborated with a dismissive wave of his hand, and Poseidon and Zeus both frowned at him.

"He…glows?"

"Is he alright?"

Zeus and Poseidon asked, leaning forward slightly and seeming oddly invested all of a sudden.

"To my knowledge, he is fine. That's what he keeps saying, anyways."

"Wait, you talk to him? Hades! We have agreed to have _no contact_ with our children! _And that's not even your kid_!" Zeus exclaimed loudly, though they had _just_ talked about contacting their children mere minutes ago.

Hades let out a loud, pained sigh, though it didn't lessen his pain, at all.

"Zeus, that agreement was revoked after you have seen for yourself what happens if we cut ourselves off from our children. Yes, I have been in contact with them. They have even been in my realm. I filed the paperwork for that back in the beginning of January already!" He retorted indignantly, thinking of all the forms he had been sent by Hermes to fill out.

Once more, he was met with blank stares.

Then, Zeus and Poseidon exchanged a long, telling glance.

Oh, how Hades hated them both.

"So, you're telling us, that our sons…willingly went to _your_ place, _together_ , all four of them, and have conversed with you? That our sons are liaised with one another – also _all four_ _of them_ – and that they have chosen to tell _you_ , but not _us_?" Poseidon repeated very slowly, as if talking to somebody very old and/or stupid.

Hades wished he could use his powers to strike him like Zeus used to strike Hades with lightning bolts in the past.

" _Yes_." Hades replied, trying to stand a little taller as pride filled him at the knowledge he was the only one the boys had done this for.

Sure, they had only told him after he had pointed it out to them, but according to them, they had simply not wanted to disturb him, which showed they _would_ have told him by themselves if they had known his working schedule.

Sure, he was working all the time, but he might have told them differently had they asked.

Hades looked back at his brothers, just to find them sharing another pointed glance – before breaking out into laughter.

He tried not to react, instead waiting for them to calm down again, though instead he could hear the thundering of clouds overhead as Zeus kept banging his hand on the armrest of his throne, while Poseidon was bent over and slapped his own leg repeatedly as he roared with laughter, the sound reminding him of waves at the beach.

"Just look at them for yourself, then!" He called out indignantly with a dismissive wave of his hand.

He might have promised his wife not to start a war today, but he would _not_ be turned into a laughing stock just because these _fools_ were unable to take part in their children's lives!

As desired, Poseidon and Zeus shut up almost instantly, looking stunned and taken aback, before Zeus' expression changed to a boastful one.

"Alright, we shall."

Hades gestured for him to go on, so Zeus called up an image of his cabin at Camp with a lazy wave of his hand, though he and Poseidon promptly blinked at the empty interior that greeted them.

Hades _definitely_ wanted to try that thing with burying his face in his hands, but once more, he refrained.

"They wouldn't be there. In fact, they rarely visit any cabin except-…"

"Mine, of course! Yes, I remember, Percy has asked to move the water fountain! That must mean they are in _my_ cabin, because, of course, Percy is the one who-…"

"Would you stop interrupting me, Poseidon! They won't be in that one, either!" Hades exclaimed loudly, fed up with the turn his day was taking.

He had _known_ this was a bad idea.

Unfortunately, it had been his only idea, and Persephone had agreed it was necessary.

Both of them frowned at him deeply.

"Then where are they? I highly doubt they will be in the _Apollo_ cabin, unless you're saying they're liaised with _all of those_ _kids_ , as well!" Zeus stated with a derisive, doubtful huff and a glance to their brother, which made Hades grind his teeth again.

"No. They will be in _my_ cabin. Where the four of them have been staying ever since January."

He did take a certain amount of pride in that, too.

Sure, they hadn't done it because of him, but because Jason, Jackson and the sun boy had been infatuated with Nico and had wanted to be close to him and thus stayed in his cabin – but who cared?

It was still Hades' cabin, same as they had come to visit _him_.

So, yes, he was definitely doing something right in attempting to stay in contact with his child.

" _Your cabin_?!" Both men roared and Hades made a face, though he merely nodded in reply, not wanting to add to all the senseless noise.

Zeus immediately waved his hand again and the image changed to the interior of his cabin, showing Jason and Nico standing in the middle of the room side by side, while another person was on a small ladder and tempered with the lights for whatever reason ever.

Hades wanted to groan.

Why was it that the four of them could be all over each other each and every time _he_ wanted to check on them, but the moment it was _important_ for them to be all over each other, they had to be dressed and half of their group was missing?!

"Is that Will Solace? I thought you said he was blonde." Poseidon commented doubtfully with a raised eyebrow, while Zeus leaned forward and squinted at the image of his son, as if trying to tell whether it _really_ was his son, or simply somebody else pretending to be.

"And you're saying they are dating? They don't look very liaised." He mused with similar doubt in his voice, and Hades wanted to strangle them both.

 _This_ was why wars started.

"Yes, they are in a relationship, and no, that is not Will Solace. That's…erm…" Hades hesitated, knowing the imp but unable to recall his name at this moment.

"That is the imp." He replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, and both Zeus and Poseidon squinted at him.

"The…imp." They both repeated, and he grumbled in reply.

"Yes, the imp! He's a friend of theirs. Unimportant right now. Just wait for Will Solace and the Jackson kid to come back, and you'll see!"

"Hey, 'the Jackson kid' is my son, and you will treat him with respect, brother." Poseidon grumbled, and Hades was tempted to argue, but then he realized his son would _definitely_ not be pleased to hear he had started a war with the father of his boyfriend.

Plus, with all his work and the things that would be happening the next some months, he had no time for war, anyways.

So he bit back his remark and merely gestured towards the screen once more.

Zeus scratched his beard thoughtfully, watching the happenings in the image.

"I don't know. They don't really look very fond of each other."

Hades frowned at him, then looked back at the scene in front of them.

"Your son has his arm around Nico and is whispering into his ear in a clearly comforting manner, how is that _not_ fond?" He asked bewildered, but Zeus remained unconvinced.

"Anybody could do that. Poseidon and I have done more than that, and I hate that guy."

"I am right next to you, brother." Poseidon pointed out testily, and Hades rolled his eyes.

Then, he let out a sound of triumph as Jason Grace had mercy on him and moved to step in front of Nico, stroking up and down his arms before leaning forward to kiss him.

"Ha! And did you and Poseidon do _that_?" He asked boastfully, and found both of his brothers scowling at him darkly.

Hades was too busy feeling smug and proud of himself, waving off lightly.

"Oh, don't answer that. I don't want to know just _what_ you two have done in the past."

"This proves nothing. Maybe my son simply keeps your son as one of his bed companions. He _is_ my son, after all. It would be a shame if he settled for somebody so early in his life." Zeus mused thoughtfully, and Hades wondered whether this was the moment he should point out Jason Grace was a person of exceptionally high morals, as well as a respectful, selfless and kind-hearted soul, at least from what he had perceived so far.

He decided against it, because there were enough other things he had to talk about today, and he wouldn't get to those if he kept getting held up with things such as these.

Maybe there was a 'Your son is less of a dick than you are'-card – then he could send that to Zeus at a later point.

"They are in a romantic relationship with each other, as well as the Jackson boy and Will Solace." He repeated, watching how Jason Grace was _clearly_ affectionate with Nico, but apparently it wasn't enough to appease Zeus and Poseidon.

"You know, you always claim to be so busy, yet you somehow find the time to snoop around in your son's life…" Zeus mused as he studied the screen again, watching how the imp nearly fell off the ladder as he had somehow changed the lights so they could be dimmed with a remote he was now passing to Nico, looking pleased with himself as he looked at another strange thing he must have put up as well, which seemed to produce…air…?

When had Hades even allowed the imp to enter his cabin?

Nico should seriously stop just letting _anybody_ walk in there.

"I do no such thing. It's not my fault if you don't pay attention to your children's lives." He retorted unimpressed, but Zeus merely let out a small huff, his eyes still on his son, who was now behind Nico and nuzzling his face against the side of his neck.

Hades had to admit he was beginning to feel a bit guilty, especially when the imp left and they watched his son letting down his guard and leaning back into the embrace of his boyfriend.

This was private.

 _He_ would never infiltrate his son's privacy like this.

Unfortunately, both Zeus and Poseidon still seemed unconvinced of the truth of his statements and continued watching, waiting for something to happen that might change their mind.

"Is that _my_ water fountain in that corner?" Poseidon asked with narrowed eyes, sounding between stunned and outraged, and Hades nodded triumphantly.

"Yes! After they started sharing a bed, my son asked for permission to move the monstrosity in there so the Jackson kid could make use of it at night, in case Will Solace needs it." He explained, but this time ignored the blank looks he received.

Seriously, they could get all their information themselves, he had no time nor patience to tell them everything that happened the past months.

"Ah, there comes the Jackson kid." Hades announced as he watched the door opening, for the first time pleased to spot Jackson trudging in with a heavy sigh and slumped shoulders.

Hm, he seemed to have had a bad day.

Hades felt the faintest hint of pity well up inside him, but he squashed it immediately again as he instead pointed at the screen for emphasis when Jason Grace and Nico immediately went to hold Percy and tug him towards the bed, talking quietly and snuggling close to him.

"Doesn't mean a thing." Zeus insisted stubbornly, even as Nico started kissing Percy tentatively.

"Why does my son look so unhappy? He hasn't told me of any of this. He always leaves messages when he sacrifices food, and never did he say anything about being unhappy at that Camp!" Poseidon complained, sounding…surprisingly upset.

Then again, Hades knew Poseidon cared greatly for his son.

They all cared for their children, each in their own way, but Poseidon's love for his son was much like Hades' for Nico.

Just that Hades had sadly had too many children he had cared for that had despised him for who he was, so he cherished the relationship he and Nico had and tried his best to be an acceptable father – whereas Poseidon had always been looked up to and thus neglected the normal mortal's need for closeness, open affection and steady contact, instead prioritizing other things that mortals wouldn't be able to comprehend.

"And he has not mentioned he is in love with Jason Grace, my son and Will Solace?" Hades asked doubtfully and raised an eyebrow at his brother.

If there was one thing he knew about the Jackson kid, it was that he made no secret of his feelings, and as much as he disliked the kid, he knew he was infatuated with the lot of them.

Poseidon made a face and scratched the side of his face without meeting his eyes.

"Yeah…he might have mentioned something every here and there. Probably should have paid more attention, but the repairs are still going rough and the fact the seas are rioting isn't making anything any better. If you haven't noticed, they are picking sides, and even you know how troublesome that can be."

If Poseidon thought Hades would feel sorry for him, he was very much mistaken.

"Shut up, you two. What are those three doing?" Zeus interrupted them and pointed back at the screen, so Hades looked – and instantly wished he hadn't.

"They are cheering the Jackson kid up." He stated as blankly as he could, while averting his face as inconspicuously as possible.

"Why is my son not dominating them both?"

"Never mind that, why is _my_ son in the middle?"

"Why are you so invested in your sons' private lives?" Hades deadpanned to escape the questions, just to have both of them glowering at him darkly, their eyes full of fury and wrath.

" _You are the one who started this!_ "

…Fair enough.

"And I still don't know who Will Solace is." Poseidon grumbled under his breath, and Hades remembered why he was even here.

"He is their boyfriend, and the key to our rising problem." Hades explained, and had their attention immediately, the screen dissolving as Zeus had apparently seen enough.

"How so?" Poseidon asked cautiously, while Zeus studied Hades with renewed interest.

"Do tell us more."

 _Finally_.

Now, all he had to do was explain it all to them, and hopefully, they hadn't been as blind to the threat as they had been to their sons' lives.

Hopefully, they would agree to the cause.

.

"You want us to _what_?!" Poseidon asked, looking and sounding outraged, but Hades stood by his point.

"Yes. Otherwise, they will not manage in time, and as long as you two haven't signed it, the other gods will not follow."

"That is madness! Plus, what do we get out of this? My son hasn't yet come here to offer me anything, why would I just blindly agree?" Zeus asked in similar indignance, clearly ignoring Hades' words.

"Oh please, there's nothing you need, Zeus. You have it all up here. The treaty is there for all the gods you decided to mistreat and belittle in the past, not to enrich _you_ even more."

Zeus huffed, clearly displeased with his reply.

Poseidon grumbled to himself, gazing thoughtfully into the distance.

Then, he looked back at Hades, studying him critically.

"And my son likes these boys, you say?"

Had he _not_ seen them?

"He loves them." Hades confirmed, and Poseidon looked away again, clearly pondering his words.

"And they love him? He is happy with them, yes?"

Hades made a face.

Oh, how he loathed talking about the emotions of his son for that Jackson kid.

"They do. Dearly. You have nothing to worry about, they treat him with a devotion I haven't witnessed in years." He replied calmly, though he also felt as if he had eaten something very sour.

"But they are _young_. It is to be expected." Zeus put in with a dismissive wave of his hand, which Hades and Poseidon ignored as they shared a long look, Poseidon's gaze searching, Hades' open and honest.

"I say we take a look at this Solace kid first. You are certain he is what you made him out to be?" Poseidon asked as he leaned back in his throne again, and Hades nodded without hesitation.

"You seem unusually invested in this. What is in it for you? What are you not telling us?" Zeus asked skeptically, narrowing his eyes at him again, but Hades had expected this to come.

"I have signed the contract under the condition the gods will come to my aid should I require it. Same as Poseidon has suffered attacks on his realm, the Underworld is under constant pressure. But unlike your realms, mine harbors the souls of countless humans and demigods – and it is our responsibility to protect them. What I gain from your signature is your agreement to these terms, and the knowledge others will follow your lead." He explained patiently.

"And you seriously expect us to march into the Underworld and fight by your side?" Zeus drawled doubtfully, the corners of his lips curling up in amusement, but Hades stood his ground and squared his shoulders.

"I do. Same as I have fought in the Battle of Olympus even though the battle did not concern me."

The smile slid off Zeus' face again, his frown showing he disliked being reminded of that time.

Poseidon still studied him thoughtfully.

"It is unusual, still. I must agree with Zeus on this one, as much as it pains me. You are not usually this adamant. And to request a meeting just for this…what _else_ is there, brother?" Poseidon asked, but Hades' expression didn't change, and he chose not to reply.

"Maybe he got _attached_." Zeus joked, leaning forward with mirth in his eyes, and Hades' back tensed.

"I am merely stating facts and making sure you are made aware, brothers. I may not care much for your welfare, but this exceeds our rivalry and differences. You did not even know of your sons' lives beyond the fact they were alive. Shouldn't you be grateful I have taken it upon myself to inform you of the dangers ahead of us, rather than insulting me and making absurd claims?" He stated calmly, trying not to let anything show apart from apathy.

Both of his brothers straightened up in their thrones, studying him with renewed interest.

Then, Poseidon's brow creased in worry.

"Brother, you know it is dangerous to become attached."

Hades' jaw clenched, though he swallowed his sharp words in order to raise a stoic eyebrow.

"Then you should make sure to avoid such dangers, Poseidon." He replied coldly, and Zeus looked away from them, one hand at his beard, the other tapping on the armrest.

"It is a foolish thing, to get attached. It only makes you weak and susceptible to attacks." He pointed out, and Hades felt the urge to defend himself, though he knew that would only make things worse.

"Indeed it does. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody." He replied coolly instead, and Zeus and Poseidon exchanged a telling look, but didn't comment.

Instead, Zeus waved his arm again and brought up another image.

"Where is that kid, then? William something."

"Will Solace. Probably the infirmary." Hades corrected and stepped closer, while Poseidon shot him another concerned look.

"Don't you think you are a bit too invested in their lives if you…"

"Do you want to see him or not?" Hades cut in, pleased to be the one to interrupt Poseidon for once, though the god merely looked at him with eyes full of pity.

His pity was wasted, Hades knew what he was doing.

Plus, he didn't know the sun boy was in the infirmary because he was spying on them excessively, but because Nico kept mentioning it whenever he sacrificed a portion of his meal.

As did the Jackson kid, actually, who had started praying to him as well as his own father, apparently – though Hades liked to pretend to ignore his voice whenever he heard it.

So, yeah, instead of Hades getting attached, his brothers should be worrying _their sons_ were getting attached to _Hades_.

The thought made him incredibly smug, but he couldn't deny feeling a hint of concern when Zeus called forth an image of the infirmary at Camp Half-Blood, showing the sun boy buzzing around and calling out orders as he tried to keep an overview over the patients and available rooms as well as healers.

"He's a bit short." Poseidon mused doubtfully, but Hades bit back his retort of 'Same height as your son, actually'.

"Doesn't look very strong." Zeus pointed out skeptically as he leaned back into his throne and crossed his arms over his chest.

"He's a healer. Not a fighter." Hades pointed out through gritted teeth, but his brothers seemed unmoved.

"And you're certain my son is seeing all three of these boys?" Poseidon asked again, not sounding opposed to the idea, but mildly surprised, anyways.

Hades wished he had some sort of folder that had all the things that showed those four were involved – mainly so he could throw it at his brothers.

" _Yes_."

"And you're sure this is really necessary?" Zeus asked, sounding apprehensive, and Hades looked back at the sun boy, who looked busy and determined, yet also exhausted, and his hands kept tugging out a pocket watch out of his medic pouch to check the time.

"If you want to keep living your carefree lives, yes. They are running out of time, and the minor gods will not abide the agreement if you two refuse to set an example. I have done my part, now it is your turn." He replied, and Zeus and Poseidon gazed back at the sun boy a moment longer, before Poseidon reached out to dissolve the image without permission.

Then, he got up, his back straight and his expression stern.

"Very well. I shall sign the treaty, and hold those around me to the same." He announced, his voice speaking of a promise he would keep, and Hades gave him a short nod, knowing it would be unwise to show any of the gratitude he felt right now.

Zeus kept gazing off into space where the image had been moments before, then he let out a long, frustrated breath and stood, as well.

"Fine. I will see to it being done. But I hope you know I'm not doing it for you, and not because you asked me to do this. Now, if that is all, you know the way out. I need some time to think." Zeus declared with a dismissive wave of his hand, but Hades had expected nothing less from the self-proclaimed god of the gods.

"Thank you for seeing me, brother. It is good to know one can still count on you to honor your word." He replied with a curt nod – his own insurance that they would both follow up on their promises.

Because Zeus would never allow anything to touch his honor, and Poseidon would never want to be less than his brother.

"You better not show up here again anytime soon, Hades. The next time I have to see your face, it better be one of the official meetings." Zeus called after him as he turned to leave.

Hades gave a wave of his hand to show he had heard, but refrained from replying.

Poseidon joined his side as they walked through the big doors, leaving Zeus to ponder the things Hades had told them.

They didn't speak, but Hades knew there was no need to point out the obvious.

The next official meeting wouldn't take place until next year, because Zeus had cancelled this year's meetings in a fit of rage over the drama about Hera and Apollo and their punishments.

The next time Hades would see his brothers, it would not be for that meeting, and the three of them knew it.

Poseidon turned to look at him from the side, his eyes much like Jackson's, and just as easily readable.

"I will be fine, Poseidon."

"I didn't say you wouldn't be." Poseidon argued, though the concern was evident in his eyes, which was probably why he averted his gaze a moment later again.

"Good. Save your pity for your son. He will have to face grave dangers in the months to come, and suffer many losses." Hades replied, lifting his head a little higher and walking a little straighter.

"Percy will be fine. He is strong." Poseidon retorted with a voice of confidence, though Hades knew he worried just how he himself worried about Nico.

They were strong, undoubtedly so, but they were also just human.

The two of them walked in silence until they reached the point where their paths would part.

"It was good seeing you, brother." Hades said in an apathetic voice, though he knew this might as well be the last time he saw him.

"Take care, brother." Poseidon replied, looking as if he wanted to say more, though he decided against it.

They stood there, gazing at each other quietly for a long moment – so many things to say, but all of them left unsaid.

"Goodbye." Poseidon said with a small nod and turned his back to him, even though he lingered a moment longer instead of leaving.

"Farewell." Hades replied, then decided to put an end to their misery and stepped back into the shadows to take him to his realm.

He had done all he could.

Now, it was up to Jason, Nico, Percy and Will to do the rest.

...

"So, how are you liking the air conditioning, Percy?" Nico purred against his lips, his words so contrary to their actions right now.

Who asked about air conditioning when they were slowly undressing each other while kissing and making out?

Apparently, Nico did.

"It's good. Feels nice." He replied, eager to continue down the side of Nico's neck and exposed collarbone as he tugged his shirt off over his head.

"We won't be burning up anymore in here during the day." Nico pointed out, and, while Percy agreed, he also wanted Nico to stop talking and let him seduce him properly.

"We'll be able to cuddle at night again." He replied as he pushed Nico off his lap and into the sheets, lips moving down Nico's chest while his hands ran up and down the rest of his body.

He'd never get enough of this.

No matter how many times he had touched Nico, no matter how many times they had made love, it still struck him every time he got to touch him again, got to feel his skin under his fingertips, got to run his lips and tongue over his body.

"You're eager today." Nico commented with a hint of mirth in his voice, and Percy glanced up from where he was currently teasing his navel, catching sight of his boyfriend's cheeky smile.

"Is that bad?" Percy asked, hesitating in his movement as the thought occurred to him Nico might only be trying to make conversation to show he wasn't actually up for more.

The next moment, Nico moved his leg and flipped them over, sliding down to straddle Percy's hips and bringing that cheeky smile much close to Percy's own lips.

"Far from it. I think it's great." Nico purred, then leaned in to kiss him, and Percy sighed happily against his lips as he wrapped his arms around him, relief flooding through him before lust took over once more.

"Would you be interested in…you know…" He started, then remembered the last time he had tried to bring this up with Nico, back on their three-month-anniversary.

The thought both made him cringe and smile, a part of him tempted to gloss over his question with something else, while another part of him wondered whether Nico's reply had changed by now.

"In what?" Nico asked as he nudged Percy's hands off his arms and pinned them above Percy's head, which promptly had Percy arch his back and spread out more, too used to this gesture by Jason.

"Top me?" Percy breathed hopefully as he tilted his head to the side to expose more of his neck, and Nico didn't hesitate to run his tongue and teeth over his skin – not even half as possessive and dominating as Jason, but that only made it feel much more like _Nico_.

Nico didn't reply for a long moment, instead teasing Percy's neck and leaving love bites all over it just to make Percy writhe beneath him, and Percy was perfectly okay with that – if only he had a bit more patience and could deal with the anxiety and anticipation swirling inside him.

"Nico?" He finally caved in and asked, trying to look at Nico as his boyfriend moved down to tease his nipples, but his face remained obscured by his hair and made Percy regret tugging out the hairband earlier.

"If you want me to." Nico replied, his voice a tiny tad higher than usual, and now Percy _definitely_ wanted to see his face.

"Really?" He asked breathlessly as he tugged on his boyfriend's hair to get him to look up, but Nico remained stubborn and rather moved further down his body than up.

"If you want me to." Nico repeated, his shoulders tense and his breath shaking slightly as it ghosted along Percy's abs.

"Do _you_ want to?" Percy asked nervously, and Nico halted in his movement, before he suddenly buried his face at Percy's stomach with a small groan.

Percy was about to ask, when his boyfriend did him the favor of looking up at him, exposing a flushed face and a flustered, but certainly not opposed expression.

For a moment, they merely gazed at each other – then Percy couldn't help but laugh, and Nico huffed indignantly as he bit his stomach and moved away with a sulky look on his face.

" _Stop. Laughing_!"

"I'm sorry! You just look too adorable; I can't take it!" Percy wailed, trying to tug his boyfriend back closer, but Nico crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked away with a pout, his face beet-red.

"Well you better be able to take it when you want to be the one taking it!" Nico exclaimed, then his eyes widened in apparent shock at his own words, while Percy tried very hard to rein in his laughter.

Oh, how he wished Will and Jason could have heard that.

Unfortunately, Will was still in the infirmary, and Jason had left earlier to make sure their favorite healer took his break and ate something, so he'd have to wait until gods knew when to tell them about this.

Then again, if he didn't stop laughing now, he was pretty sure he'd lose all chance of actually getting more out of this.

Percy shuffled closer, trying his best apologetic look he could muster right now as he started kissing his boyfriend's shoulder and reached out to stroke over his thigh.

"Aw, come on, Nico. You know I'd never make fun of you." He cooed, but Nico very pointedly turned his head away from him, pout still firmly in place.

"Though you'd be surprised how good I am at taking it…" Percy added in a low voice, trying to _maybe_ seduce his boyfriend a tiny little bit.

Nico stiffened slightly, but other wisely didn't react.

"Would you like to try? I'll be so good for you, sweetheart." He tried, cringing inwardly since dirty talking definitely wasn't his strong suit.

"You laughed at me." Nico grumbled, and Percy made a face.

He had looked too adorable like that, it hadn't been his fault!

"You could punish me for that." He attempted tentatively, and while that finally got him Nico's full attention, he still cringed at the incredulous look his boyfriend gave him.

" _Percy_!"

Percy gave him his best innocent expression possible, and promptly had Nico's hand in his face, pushing him away with an offended huff.

"You're impossible. I'm not going to…that's…go ask _Jason_ to pleasure your weird kinks!" Nico insisted, but Percy was too distracted by his blush and the way he averted his eyes.

Intrigued, Percy hurriedly moved back closer, wrapping himself around his boyfriend from the side and trying to nuzzle against the side of his neck.

"Oh really? You sure you want me to go to Jason? Sure you don't want to push me down and punish me for being such a bad boy all the time?" He purred sweetly, causing Nico to stare at him with a scandalized look, which turned into an exasperated one the moment Percy started cackling.

"You're the worst."

"Come on, you love me! Plus, you'd totally love to push me down and show me what you've got." Percy stated with more confidence than he felt, and Nico eyed him warily from the side, before his lips twitched ever so faintly – and Percy was promptly feeling rather hopeful again.

"You know, maybe I _should_ punish you." Nico mused, making Percy blink and lean back slightly as he studied Nico from the side.

Wait, really?

Was Nico actually into that?

Oh gods, Percy had no idea whether _he_ was into that!

Sure, Jason loved to tease and make him beg for it, but he was pretty sure there was a difference between that and actual _punishment_.

"Is that so?" He asked weakly, cursing himself inwardly for teasing Nico when he clearly didn't know how to deliver, and now Nico was most definitely smirking in an unnervingly cocky way as he moved and leaned closer.

"Oh yes. Do you want to know how well I'd punish you?" His boyfriend purred sweetly, just like Percy had mere minutes ago, and now Percy was most definitely sweating as he let himself fall back slightly to make more room – which Nico promptly invaded again.

Oh shit, abort, abort, abort…

"H-how?" He asked, his voice cracking slightly as Nico started looming over him, seeming unusually confident and dominant as he pushed Percy down with his hands flat on his chest, his legs moving to straddle his hips.

Nico leaned down, his breath ghosting over Percy's face as he moved to whisper into his ear.

"I'd keep your arms above your head…like this…" Nico whispered, his voice like honey as he grabbed hold of Percy's wrists and tugged them up without a hint of hesitation, and Percy gasped softly.

"I'd forbid you to move them, so you are victim to my touches as I let my hands roam over you just like this." Nico continued, and _gods_ , did he have to say that with this _voice_?!

Did he have to _touch him like that_?!

It was doing things for Percy he wasn't allowed to feel right now because he had to suck it up and tell Nico he had bluffed!

"W-Will you now…" He mumbled back weakly, his heart pounding in his chest and his mind buzzing with an overload of sensations and words that only made thinking even more difficult than it already was.

It also wasn't helping that he was getting hard again, but he tried blaming the way Nico stroked over his skin with such determination and purpose, rather than his words and whatever would follow.

"Oh yes. And while my hands are busy touching you all over, you know what my mouth would do?"

Probably something really awesome.

Wait, no, Nico was talking about punishment, right?

Then again, maybe he had forgotten about punishment?

"What?" He asked instead of doing something _sensible_ , like admitting to his bluff, and Nico tugged on his earlobe softly, before kissing along his neck and jaw to his lips so he could seduce Percy into a long and horribly amazing, sensual kiss.

" _This_." Nico breathed against his lips for emphasis.

Percy moaned against his better judgement and tried to move his arms to wrap them around his boyfriend, but Nico's hands promptly left his chest and shot back up to keep his arms in place with a sharp hiss.

"I'd make sure you stay in place, then start moving like _this_." Nico purred, not kissing him anymore, but instead he was doing that absolutely horrible thing with his hips, nudging his way between Percy's legs and thrusting against him ever so lightly, which of course gave Percy's quickly hardening dick no chance for escape.

Well, _shit_.

"Nico…" He started, though his voice came out as a breathy moan instead of anything that indicated a continuation.

Nico started kissing him again, their bodies moving together fluidly, and it took a moment for Percy to realize he was arching his back to meet Nico's touches, his thrusts, everything Nico threw at him, his body and soul craving it too much to think logically anymore.

"And you know what I'd do, once I have you all riled up and at my mercy?" Nico breathed as he moved his lips back to Percy's ear, one hand on his nipple and the other one buried in Percy's hair to keep him in place.

Percy didn't fight him in the slightest, panting heavily as he closed his eyes and decided Nico could do anything he wanted, too far gone to truly care.

"What?" He panted back, whimpering softly as Nico pinched his nipple lightly.

"I'd pull back and not touch you for the rest of the day to show you how much I appreciate being laughed at." Nico deadpanned and pulled back, swiftly moving off and away from Percy before he even had any chance to make sense of his words.

He was hit with a sudden _lack_ of Nico, the air suddenly feeling cold on his hot skin as he blinked up at the ceiling, his brain trying frantically to catch up with what was happening while his lips already parted to utter a devastated wail.

Then, it clicked.

"No! No, Nico! Nico, _please_!" Percy whined as he shot up and rushed after his boyfriend, who was sitting next to him on the bed looking horribly smug and cruel with his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised.

Percy had a hundred things he wanted to say, but instead he merely threw himself at Nico, luring a sound of surprise out of him before they hit the sheets again, and Percy was beyond glad the bed was big enough to allow for this.

He flattened Nico into the blanket like a pancake, still whining miserably as he attacked his boyfriend with kisses and pitiful wails and pleas for more, though he was dimly aware he wasn't even giving Nico a chance to speak up.

Hands flailed around, but he was unperturbed in his pleading as he showered him in his best kisses and wrapped his arms tightly around him to keep him there.

The next moment, he was pinched in the side, winced, and was promptly thrown off and onto his back, Nico on top of him once more.

Nico looked between flustered and annoyed, lips already parted to undoubtedly snap at him, so Percy did the first thing he could think of and made a despairing sound of need as he grabbed Nico's wrists and tried to get him closer.

This, however, worked as well as such things did when Jason was the one pushing Percy down – which was to say, _not at all how it should_.

Instead of Nico having mercy on him, his boyfriend thrust his hips forward and tugged his wrists right out of Percy's hold the moment he was distracted.

"Percy, for gods' sake, stop moving around so much!" Nico grumbled, snatching Percy's arms as he tried to tug him closer again – and Percy promptly found himself pinned to the bed once more.

Yes! _This_ was what he wanted! Exactly this!

Percy was pretty sure he was rambling as much as he started whining and pleading with Nico again, who now looked between intrigued, annoyed and bewildered – which wasn't the most promising mixture for sex, but at least Nico didn't climb off him again to leave him to suffer.

Then, Nico's hands left Percy's wrists, but Percy stayed how he was, promising he wouldn't laugh at him again, promising he'd do anything he asked, pleading with him to have mercy on him – and the next moment, Nico's hands appeared at the sides of his face, cupping it as his boyfriend leaned down and pushed their lips together to effectively shut him up.

Percy kissed back immediately, desperately trying to push up and against Nico, but Nico kept him firmly in place, his touch as insistent as his tongue when it pushed past Percy's lips.

"That was so mean." Percy complained weakly as they parted for a moment to catch their breath, but Nico merely gave a small grunt and leaned back in to draw him into another frantic kiss.

"You _killed_ me." Percy whined dramatically, and Nico huffed as he moved his lips along the front of Percy's throat, making him hold completely still.

"You still seem very much alive to me." Nico commented wryly, and Percy swallowed automatically as he kissed his Adam's apple.

"Trick of the light." He deadpanned, and Nico huffed against his skin before biting his neck.

"Yeah, right."

"Please don't pull away again. I'll die for real this time." Percy whimpered and Nico licked over the spot he had just bitten, seemingly considering his words.

"I'm not actually into getting punished." Percy blurted for a lack of anything better to say, and Nico snorted against his skin.

"Percy, I know that."

Percy breathed out a sigh of relief.

Oh, okay. Cool. Great.

Wait, _what_?!

"But then _why_ did you-…" Percy started indignantly, wriggling under Nico like a worm, while his boyfriend chose that very moment to drop onto him like a log, keeping him where he was.

"You were making fun of me!"

They both looked at each other indignantly, then Percy let himself fall back and groaned.

"You're the _worst_." Percy sulked, and caught Nico's lips twitching the moment he tried to move his arm over his eyes.

"Guess you don't want to have sex anymore."

Percy immediately had his arm off his eyes once more.

"Who said that? _No_! Don't you _dare_ leave me hanging again!" He instantly cried, just to find Nico grinning at him smugly.

That _tease_!

Percy pouted, but then Nico was already leaning forward to give him a gentle peck on his lips – and _maybe_ Percy could forgive him about this whole mess.

(Though he knew he had sort of started it by laughing.)

"No more punishing." He demanded resolutely, and Nico gave him another peck, his eyes warm and beautiful as always.

"No more laughing." His boyfriend retorted, and Percy hesitated for a moment, though he nodded the moment Nico's eyebrow shot up.

"I won't. Even though you're the most adorable person in the world, I shall resist the urge to laugh." Percy declared elaborately, and Nico's lips twitched, before he leaned down and gave him another peck.

"Good. If you really want me to top, you shouldn't do stuff that makes me even more nervous than I already am." Nico stated, and Percy's heart was instantly leaping in his chest again at the prospect of _Nico topping_.

How long had he been waiting for that?

 _Forever_ , surely.

"But Nico, there's no need to be nervous. You'll be great." He rushed to reassure his boyfriend, biting his bottom lip as he tried to rein in the giddiness that promptly rushed through him at the thought of _finally_ getting this.

Nico stilled on top of him, his face promptly turning pink.

Gods, he was so _adorable_!

"I mean, you managed to rile me up so fast. I'm not even into dirty talking all that much, but when you did that, it just felt… _wow_. Totally wouldn't mind you doing that again." Percy continued quickly, watching Nico intently for his reaction.

Nico seemed to hesitate a moment longer, the pink on his cheeks not lessening, but Percy could see his pupils dilating slightly, which had to be a good sign.

The next moment, Percy found his hands pinned above his head again, and Nico's face inches away from his.

"Well, in that case, I'm only all too happy to comply…" Nico purred, and by the gods, he was going to be the end of Percy.

"Yes, please." Percy breathed softly, eagerly pushing back against Nico the moment he pressed his lips against his.

 _Finally_!

.

"How can you be so responsive? I'm not even hitting your…" Nico complained in an unnerved tone as Percy moaned and writhed beneath him, unable to help himself.

"You _are_!" He exclaimed breathlessly, pushing back against Nico's fingers with a helpless keening sound and wondering how his boyfriend could _not_ tell.

"Oh." Nico mumbled, and Percy could see his blush deepening slightly as he curled his fingers again, causing Percy to gasp and moan again as he clutched him and tried to cope with the intensity of _everything_.

"Is this good? More? Less? Faster? Slower?" Nico asked, sounding uncertain, though in Percy's opinion he absolutely had _no_ reason to worry.

He was freaking amazing at this.

Too amazing, in fact.

At this rate, Percy would blow before he got to the best part – _again_.

"We're good to go!" He declared quickly, then mewled and pressed Nico against him as he hit his prostate again, his long and thin fingers _perfect_ for this sort of thing.

How had they never had Nico do this before?

It was beyond him.

"It's only two fingers!" Nico exclaimed nearly horrified, but Percy couldn't see the problem with that.

"So? I'm ready, Nico! Please! Come on, don't you want to-…" He tried desperately, and his boyfriend frowned at him with a stern look on his face.

"Yes, I do _not_ want to hurt you, Percy."

"It's not going to hurt!" Much. But even if, it wasn't as if Percy…had anything against that…

"Please!" He added, looking up at Nico with his best puppy face, and Nico caved in.

He grumbled something in Italian and seemed to be about to pull his fingers out, but the moment he caught Percy grinning triumphantly, he thrust his fingers into him a few more times just to make Percy cry out and cling to him desperately.

Freaking _tease_.

"You like that?" His boyfriend asked unnecessarily, and Percy wanted to bite him.

"I'll like it much more when it's your dick pushing into me, instead." He retorted – and promptly felt Nico shiver in response, the faintest gasp escaping his lips.

Then, his boyfriend pulled back and let his fingers slide out of Percy, causing him to whine automatically, because _nobody_ liked feeling so empty all of a sudden, okay?

Nico took his sweet time with the lube and condom, though Percy didn't even try to do either for him, knowing full well Nico's hands were much steadier right now than his own, and past experiences had shown Nico was a pro when it came to rolling on condoms.

"Please, Nico, I need you. So much. I've been waiting for this for _months_ , _please_ , hurry up! For me!" He pleaded and found Nico huffing softly as he abused the lube bottle to squirt _way too much_ onto his hands and stroke his condom-clad dick – a movement Percy followed with hungry eyes and even more pleas falling from his lips.

"Are you sure you want this position?" Nico asked, but Percy couldn't care less about _positions_ right now, instead whining and reaching out for Nico, who for once didn't push him back down but promptly leaned down and gave him a quick kiss, before nudging his side for him to lift his hips.

"Percy, shush. No more whining. Rather tell me how it feels." Nico chided and Percy immediately bit his lip to stop himself from pleading, though it absolutely wasn't his fault his boyfriend just _had_ to get him this riled up.

Not even Jason had managed to make him beg so much.

Then again, Jason also hadn't given him as much chance to talk, and had been far more merciful on him than Nico was.

Nico rubbed against him slowly, his bottom lip between his teeth and his eyes hushing from Percy's face to his dick and back.

Percy moaned and tried to nudge against Nico, but Nico kept one hand firmly on his hip to hold him in place, which had to be the cruelest thing a boyfriend could do.

"Tell me if it hurts." Nico told him, panting slightly – and Percy was about to point out he _wanted_ it to hurt, when his boyfriend finally showed mercy and started pushing in.

Fuck, _yes_.

Percy groaned and tried to move closer immediately, but was held in place by Nico still, who drew a sharp breath and seemed ready to blow on the spot, which Percy actually _didn't_ want to happen.

He hadn't been lying when he said he had waited for this for months.

Percy pushed his head further into the pillow, whispering praise and reassurance for his boyfriend as he inwardly hissed softly at the sensation flooding through him right now.

Nico was using too much lube for it to really _hurt_ , but it stung a little bit anyways, which felt _great_.

If there was one thing Percy loved, it was this – that feeling of stretching open, of allowing his boyfriend inside, of _feeling_ his boyfriend sliding inside.

Nico started thrusting into him with light, shallow thrusts, but at Percy's insistence, he slowly picked up his pace and pushed further in, which had Percy moaning louder again.

"Fuck, _Nico_!"

"Don't you 'fuck' me, Percy. This is only the second time I'm topping, I'm slightly overwhelmed right now, so it should be _me_ saying-…" Nico rambled, then cut himself off with a low groan and a drawn-out string of what Percy assumed was Italian cussing.

He gazed up at Nico, feeling all warm and fuzzy as he took in his flushed face and dilated pupils, though he couldn't stare for too long because Nico started moving again, and Percy's eyes promptly fell shut with a small gasp.

Percy reached out for his boyfriend – and unlike Jason, Nico allowed him to tug him closer just fine - so Percy wrapped his arms and legs around him and clung to him, which led to Nico dropping down on top of him with a moan, though Percy didn't mind that one bit.

He was a sucker for physical contact – the more, the better.

"How flexible are you?" Nico asked all of a sudden, his voice raspy and his breath wet against Percy's ear, and all Percy could reply with was a low moan as Nico thrust into him repeatedly at that agonizingly good pace.

"Does it really feel that good or are you just trying to boost my self-confidence?" Nico asked with a hint of incredulity in his voice, and Percy would laugh if he wasn't busy moaning.

Only Nico would ask that.

At this rate, Percy probably _should_ boost his confidence every here and there, just so his boyfriend knew how great he was.

"You feel amazing, babe." He rasped in reply and Nico huffed against his skin weakly, before he pulled back to grab hold of Percy's leg and push it upwards to Percy's chest, changing the angle of his thrusts and making Percy moan even louder.

How had Nico known this would feel so good?

Percy didn't know, but didn't bother asking as he gazed up into heavy-lidded, dark eyes that meant the world to him.

"Talk about yourself, Percy. Now I know why Jason can't keep his hands off you." Nico commented with a hint of mirth, though the small smile slid right off his lips a moment later again as he tipped his head forward and moaned, faltering in his thrusts slightly.

Percy tried to tug him back closer, one leg still around Nico's waist and the other one raised up to make space for his boyfriend, and Nico seemed more than happy to lower himself onto him, making Percy breathe a barely audible 'Thank you' against his neck.

He wasn't sure whether Nico had heard or not, but he did notice he was picking up his pace, which had Percy biting his lip as to not start smiling again.

Not because anything was particularly funny, but because it felt _freaking terrific_.

Nico kissed his way from Percy's jaw to his lips, breaking his rhythm in order to focus on kissing Percy properly, which had Percy thrusting back against him with a small sound of complaint and need, though he also pulled Nico right back in the second he tried to pull away.

Nico huffed against his lips as if he wanted to laugh, but when Percy peeked up at him, Nico looked at him with nothing but love and awe.

Percy leaned up to nip at his chin, his jaw, any part his lips and tongue could get to, and Nico let him, merely pushing Percy's leg up further to continue thrusting into him with small moans and huffs that were nothing to Percy's own groans and mewls.

"Now you're definitely just trying to boost my self-confidence." Nico muttered as Percy jolted automatically with a small cry of pleasure, and Percy groaned against his boyfriend's skin.

"Nico, you just freaking hit my prostate with your dick!" He exclaimed indignantly, just to let out another strangled sound as Nico did it _again_.

"I did?"

 _By the gods_!

"Yes!"

"Oh."

Percy pried his eyes open to look up at his boyfriend, who was busy looking down their bodies, his eyes hushing from Percy's angled leg to his raised hips to his other leg still around his waist.

"How close are you?" Nico asked, but Percy couldn't reply, too busy trying to decide whether he wanted to beg Nico to give him more or plead with him to go easy on him else this would be over in no time.

He settled for another strangled sound that might have meant one or the other, and his boyfriend let out another small huffed laugh.

Percy wanted to complain why Nico was allowed to laugh and he wasn't, but then Nico moved to wrap his hand around Percy's dick and he forgot how words worked.

"Is this okay?" Nico rasped somewhere above him and Percy tried to nod as he drifted further away from sanity and towards his building climax.

No, no, no, this couldn't be it, they had barely started!

Percy struggled, trying to make up his mind between pleasure and _pleasure_ , between stopping Nico and urging him on, between pushing back against him or pulling his boyfriend back down to feel their bodies together once more.

Usually, Jason took these decisions from him.

Usually, Percy didn't have a choice – which he was glad for in moments such as these.

Now, though, Nico was looking down at him, studying his expression, trying to figure out what he wanted even though Percy couldn't manage any words and didn't know what he wanted, himself.

"Faster? Slower?" He asked, but Percy merely nodded, which he _knew_ was no reply, but he couldn't help it.

Nico felt so good inside him, same as his hand felt so good around his dick.

Percy wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, letting out a garbled mess of words that made no sense to either of them.

Nico nearly lost his balance for a moment, but then caught himself and leaned closer over him, his arm shaking as he kept himself up with it, but his grip on Percy's dick didn't loosen, and his thrusts didn't waver.

Percy closed his eyes and felt Nico's lips against his own a moment later, his pace slowing down all of a sudden, though his thrusts seemed to deepen in return, so Percy was more than content with the change, moaning softly against his lips.

"I doubt I'll last as long as Jason might, Percy." Nico admitted meekly, sounding almost embarrassed by it, but Percy merely shook his head and searched for his lips again, refusing to let him go.

"How close are you?" Nico asked again, and Percy made a small noise of complaint, before he admitted defeat.

"Close…" He rasped back, noticing instantly how Nico seemed to perk up, a gleam appearing in his eyes Percy hadn't seen before.

"How close?" Nico asked, breathless but unnervingly _eager_ , and Percy didn't understand why Nico seemed into Percy treading the edge of his climax, though he didn't stop to ponder that right now.

Instead, he moaned and gasped as Nico gave him a harder, deliberate thrust.

"V-Very close." He rasped, and felt Nico shivering and drawing a sharp breath.

"Percy…" Nico moaned, then lowered himself further onto Percy to press their lips together in a messy kiss, his arm shaking even worse than before as he struggled to keep himself balanced enough.

"Yes?" Percy asked, moving a hand to Nico's arm to steady him somewhat, and Nico pushed their foreheads together, his rhythm changing to a slow and sensual one, his thrusts languid and deep – and Percy fell right into the flow with a shiver and a soft groan, his dick twitching in Nico's hand.

"Your voice is driving me crazy." Nico whispered, the confession making Percy blink his eye open in surprise and confusion.

Oh, so he wasn't into Percy nearing his orgasm, but simply how his voice sounded.

Oh, okay.

Cool.

"Want me to talk you to your orgasm?" He asked cheekily, and found his boyfriend shooting him an unimpressed look before giving his dick a harsher squeeze and thrusting his hips forward sharply, which promptly had Percy gasping and clutching the sheet with his free hand.

Nico grinned down at him smugly for a moment, before he started panting again and returned to his earlier rhythm, while Percy found himself grinning up at him for no reason other than that it felt good, being beneath Nico like this.

Nico caught him at it, faltering momentarily in his thrusting, but then something in his expression changed and a small smile found its way onto his lips as he leaned down to press said lips against the corner of Percy's.

"You're impossible, Percy."

A part of Percy wanted to act offended, but then Nico tugged his leg back up properly and Percy was happy to just fall back and moan again instead, his smile widening as Nico found his good spot once more.

Yeah, okay, if being impossible got him _this_ , then he'd gladly be impossible forever, alright?

...

"At least there won't be a game today, so I don't have to put up with _them_ again." Dylan said with a derisive huff, and Bill rolled his eyes in exasperation and annoyance.

 _Right_.

"You know, this was a perfectly good day until you decided to bother me by opening your mouth, Dylan." He deadpanned, turning his head to the side to look at Dylan – who had apparently decided that they were friends, because he kept randomly popping up to talk to Bill and his friends.

Usually, he didn't really mind all that much when he had his friends around, and Dylan _sometimes_ managed to talk about something else than his issues with four certain demigods – but right now, Bill was alone, and Dylan clearly wanted to talk about them _again_.

"Oh, come on. I respect them in battle, yes, but have you _seen_ them?! There are _children_ at Camp, and they're acting like the whole world revolves around them and their 'relationship'!" Dylan exclaimed and gestured with his hands, though Bill could only wonder.

Just _what_ was going on in this guy's head, to make him think – and _complain_ – about people who were nowhere in sight right now, who weren't even interested in him in the first place, who were simply _existing_ , and who certainly had never done Dylan any harm as far as Bill was aware?

He didn't understand.

Then again, he also didn't understand why he put up with this.

After that first Capture the Flag game, Bill had thought Dylan was over his issues, all quiet and peaceful – but once he had seen Will Solace and Nico di Angelo kissing outside the infirmary, all peace had ended and Dylan had reverted back to his own self in a heartbeat.

"Well, you do that. I just remembered I have something very important to get to that can't wait." Bill deadpanned as he checked his watch.

Time to take off his binder and sulk in his cabin until Fae and Dimitri got out of their archery lessons.

Ever since he had decided to pick up on his training, he had started needing to take that thing off every some hours to give himself enough chance to breathe and rest, though he absolutely hated every second of it.

But Clarisse had made it obvious she wouldn't have him overwork himself, so he didn't dare defy her – especially since he knew she was right.

"Oh yeah, true. Stupid of me to talk to _you_ about them, when you've _clearly_ got the hots for the di Angelo guy." Dylan grumbled with another derisive huff, but also got up as if intending to accompany him.

Bill frowned at him.

He had the hots for…Nico di Angelo?

Erm…no?

Nico was undeniably _cool_ , and Bill was still awed the older boy had even as much as looked at him, had even _talked_ to him and was regularly exchanging looks and/or greetings now, but…that was really all there was to it.

Bill didn't like boys.

Bill wasn't even sure whether he liked anybody or anything, really, and he had enough other things to worry about right now to think about such things on top of everything else.

"Whatever floats your boat, Dylan." He shrugged off and moved out of the dining pavilion, Dylan instantly by his side.

"You know it's true."

"It's really not. I admire him, but I'm not attracted to him. Since it's such a big deal to you though, maybe _you're_ the one with a crush." Bill deadpanned, feeling more than tired of this conversation already, even though they hadn't even yet started to _have_ an actual conversation.

"Don't be stupid. I'm not gay!" Dylan shot back immediately, looking disgusted.

Bill merely shrugged.

"Nothing wrong with being gay. But seriously, what _is_ your deal with them? They've never done anything bad? Like, Nico was even the one telling me to give spears a try, that's how I found out I like that much more than swordplay. They're nice guys. Why are you so set on badmouthing them?" He asked, though he had already asked this question at least thirty times, and never received more than a huff as an answer.

Dylan huffed loudly.

There, as expected.

"They are irresponsible and childish. Shouldn't they set an example for others? Instead, they prance around with their weird 'relationship' as if it's something to be proud of. Do you have any idea how many kids are seeing that? What about morals? What about actually protecting children from seeing such…such…vile behavior?" Dylan exclaimed incredulously, and while Bill was surprised to receive a reply at all, he wasn't surprised about the content of said reply.

Rolling his eyes to himself _again_ , he turned his head to give Dylan a long, clearly bored look.

"It's just four guys being romantically and presumably sexually involved with each other. They're not hurting you with that. They're not interested in you. Get over it, Dylan. You're pretty much the only person at Camp who has a problem with it." He deadpanned, because Dylan _really_ was the only person complaining this much.

Sure, there were others who made snide remarks, but they were either considered too young to know what they were talking about, or Clarisse got to them.

"Only because everybody who says something sensible about this madness gets silenced!" Dylan insisted in outrage, but Bill wasn't moved.

"I'd hate to be your significant other. By the sounds of it, you'd never show nor tell them how you feel for them. Must suck." He commented dryly, glad when his cabin came into view.

Dylan surely wouldn't follow him in there, right?

Then again, even if he did, he'd probably storm right back out once he saw Bill taking off his binder.

Bill wasn't exactly out to the Camp, after all – only his siblings and Chiron knew, and he kind of wanted to keep it that way.

Not because he felt particularly unsafe or thought people would take it badly, but because he didn't really want to make a big fuss about it or anything.

He'd tell his friends sooner or later, but that was for him to decide when and how, and he was glad neither Chiron nor his siblings were rushing him in any sort of way.

"That's different. I would date _one_ person, not _all my friends_. Seriously, you'd think there would be a voice of reason in a group of four guys, but not even Jason Grace seems to see it's just _wrong_."

According to Dylan, a lot of things in life were wrong.

Bill sighed, wondering faintly whether Dylan would think _he_ was wrong, too.

"They love each other, though. What's bad about that? My aunt used to tell my sister and me love is the most important thing in the world. If there's no love, there is no reason to live, and without reason to live, everybody would die." He told Dylan, though that wasn't _exactly_ what his aunt had told him.

However, if Dylan already talked like this about four people in a relationship, Bill didn't want to know what he'd have to say once he found out there were different types of love, as well as people who didn't date romantically at all, but still had partners for sex.

Yeah, Bill was going to let Fae and Dimitri handle _that_ conversation, as retaliation for having him suffer through _this_ by himself.

"They don't _love_ each other." Dylan insisted, but Bill only rolled his eyes again.

"How would you know?"

One minute, Dylan complained about them being too openly affectionate, the next moment he insisted they weren't in love.

Did this guy even hear himself?

"Bill!" He heard somebody behind him yell and thanked the gods for his friends.

"Hey Fae." He greeted the girl rushing towards him, her expression overjoyed until she realized he was talking to Dylan – then it looked as if she had just eaten something very sour.

Thanks, Fae.

"Hey. We just got out of archery. You should have totally been there. Kayla showed up and gave us pointers. Just Dimitri and me. Needless to say, he promptly made a fool of himself. I swear, he has such a crush on her, it's pathetic." She told him, completely ignoring Dylan's shy 'Hello' in favor of beaming at Bill, who smiled back at her, glad to not be alone with Dylan any longer.

"Sounds like him. Where did you leave him this time?" He asked curiously, then wondered how he was supposed to go and rest in his cabin when his friends were right here.

He should have totally left sooner.

"Oh, he's still at the archery field, watching her train. She's supposed to be in the infirmary, but she said Grace showed up to abduct Solace, so she decided to take a well-deserved break, as well." Fae told him, her curls flying around her face as she kept hopping up and down on the spot as if nervous.

Dylan gave a derisive snort next to him, and Bill's mood instantly dropped again.

"See? Slacking off again. Those four are supposed to be _role models_ , not lazy-…"

"Oh, shut it, Dylan. You're just jealous because your godly parent isn't one of the widely-known ones. It's not their fault people mistake Eris for Eros, okay?" Fae cut in immediately, glowering at Dylan darkly before she beamed at Bill again.

"You're going to your cabin? Already done with training?" She asked him brightly as if nothing had happened, and Bill grinned to himself while Dylan sulked and muttered something under his breath about his parents not having _anything_ to do with this.

Right.

"Yeah, I was just gonna go and rest a bit. Catch you up later?" He suggested, and her eyes immediately hushed to Dylan again, her expression one of confusion and bewilderment.

Oh gods, she didn't seriously think he wanted to take Dylan with him, right?

"Why do you have to rest in your cabin? You were in the dining pavilion for like half an hour, isn't that enough rest?" Dylan asked with a frown, and Bill made a face.

"Hey, he can do whatever he wants. If you're so battle-lusty or whatever, why don't _you_ go and train again?" Fae immediately went to defend him, which was both sweet and unnecessary at the same time.

"Why are you mean to _me_? What did I ever do to you?" Dylan asked in an almost hurt tone, but Fae merely snorted out a laugh.

"To me? Nothing. But I hate people who have nothing better to do with their time than run their mouths about people they don't even know, or butt into other people's business without sense or reason."

Had he mentioned he loved his friends?

Bill took a deep breath, and felt a stinging sensation near his ribs.

"Alright, I hate to leave you to it, I really do, but I gotta go now." Bill announced before Dylan could find a suitable retort, and both of them looked back at him in surprise for a moment, before Fae nodded.

"Sure thing. I'll see you later, then. Same spot as always?"

"You seem in a rush all of a sudden. Meeting somebody in your cabin?"

Ugh, _Dylan_.

"Yes. My bed." Bill deadpanned – and he was about to turn around and march up the steps to his cabin, when all three of them were distracted by somebody rushing out from between the cabins, looking dirty and haunted and…weird.

All three of them stared as the boy stumbled past them, muttering under his breath and making shooing motions with his hands in the air, before cursing and plucking out twigs and leaves out of his hair, not even seeming to realize they were there.

"Isn't that Clovis?" Fae asked quietly, sounding concerned, but Bill had no clue who 'Clovis' was, so he could only shrug.

"It is. He's been doing that a lot, lately. Just suddenly appears from some dark corner and looks confused and completely out of it. You think he's going crazy?" Dylan asked, for once not sounding as judgmental as his words, but genuinely worried.

"Maybe. I heard my siblings talk about how he tried to keep that Kyle-guy from doing serious damage, but he ended up getting kidnapped and all. Seemed to have been pretty bad." Fae said quietly, the three of them still watching as Clovis moved about, just to stop and squint at the cabins as if unsure where he was.

Bill had never seen anybody act like that, not even when Lou Ellen had put a disorientation cruse on the Stoll brothers.

"Hey, Clovis, you alright?" He called over, because why not, and Fae and Dylan shot him alarmed looks immediately.

He merely gave a small shrug and looked back towards Clovis, who didn't even seem to register his words for a long moment.

Then, he looked back at him, his face looking…well, first of all, _dirty_ , but even more than that, he looked dead tired.

They stared at each other for a long moment, then Clovis shuddered and shook his head, taking a few more steps away from them.

"Everything is good. Thanks." The boy called over, though he didn't look the part whatsoever.

"Dinner is soon." Bill pointed out, figuring the guy had to be hungry if he was out and about long enough to get this dirty.

"Thanks."

"I think Mitchell was looking for you." Fae called shyly, generally not that great with talking to people she wasn't comfortable with, though she kept trying, anyways.

"Yeah, okay. I'll…I'll try find him later." Clovis replied, shaking his head again and frowning to himself, before he shrugged and trudged off, swaying slightly and muttering to himself again.

"Your cabin is over there." Fae added, then visibly cringed, but Bill patted her shoulder in reassurance.

"Okay. Thanks." Clovis said without looking back at them, and without checking where she was pointing to, instead making his way towards…the Hades cabin?

"Do you think he is okay?" Fae asked, now sounding more unnerved than concerned, but Bill felt very much the same way.

"Obviously not. Maybe he's having flashbacks or something. My older brother used to have those a lot." Dylan muttered heatedly, his eyes fixed on Clovis still, who stopped in front of the Hades cabin and seemed to just stare at it – before suddenly clasping his head and shaking it wildly, just to storm past the cabin and off into the distance.

 _Weird_.

"Nobody really knows what the guy did to him; he doesn't talk about it. But my siblings said Kyle can get into people's heads somehow, so who knows what damage he has done." Fae muttered sadly, and Bill looked back at Clovis' retreating form before he disappeared between some bushes and back into the forest.

"We should tell somebody, don't you think?" He asked, then winced when he felt the stinging sensation again.

If he didn't take his break soon, Clarisse wouldn't allow him to wear his binder tomorrow at all, and he _hated_ moving around the Camp without his binder.

Sure, she let him wear his armor and the chest plate covered up enough, but that didn't mean he felt particularly _comfortable_.

"Are you okay?" Fae asked him concerned, apparently having caught his wince, and he quickly waved off.

"Who would we tell? Chiron? Oh yeah, let's just walk up to a giant centaur and say 'Hey, one of your campers is going nuts. Guess which one?'." Dylan remarked dryly, and Fae shot him a dirty look.

"You had no problem running to that 'giant centaur' to complain about the swordplay lessons we used to get from Jackson and di Angelo. Now, _because of you_ , our groups got split up and the two look like it's a punishment each and every single time." She remarked darkly, and Dylan turned his head away with a huff, though Bill thought he did look a little guilty.

"Wait, that was _you_? Wow, that's low, even for you. The lessons used to be so cool. Remember, Fae, back in December? When all four of them used to show up in the arena and show us all those cool moves and try help everybody at the same time?" Bill said with a small smile, adoring those memories.

Nico di Angelo had been so kind to him, especially considering Bill's first conversation with him had mostly consisted of him lamenting about being a child of Ares – as if somebody like _Nico di Angelo_ didn't have better things to do with his time.

But he had been nice and kind and told him to keep fighting for what was important to him, which had been the main reason why Bill had actually bothered making conversation with his half-sister Clarisse – a person he had tried to frantically _avoid_ up until that point, her personality on the battlefield too contrary to his own.

But talking to her had helped.

They actually weren't all that different at all, and when she wasn't hefting her spear, she was a pretty cool person to talk to, especially since she mostly didn't give a damn about anything that didn't concern her friends or fighting.

It had made talking to her about binding and other related topics _so_ much easier, and it had also enabled him to feel truly at home and comfortable in his cabin and in his own skin.

All thanks to Nico di Angelo helping him even when he didn't have to.

His rib cage started protesting, and he slowly started feeling dizzy.

Oh, _come on_.

He used to bind a lot more back when he was twelve, one would think one and a half years would allow him to bind _more_ , not _less_.

Then again, he might have also overdone it back then because of his sister's condition and the lack of a real binder, but that was a different matter altogether.

He heard Fae talking, but couldn't focus on it, instead moving his fingers under his shirt and his binder to try loosen it a bit, which didn't do all that much except make Dylan look at him oddly.

"Hey, no offense, but you're looking weird." Dylan remarked – which Bill found ironic, because _everything_ out of this guy's mouth seemed to be offensive.

"Thanks. Yeah, I really need to go. Can you guys tell Chiron? Or, I don't know, wait for me and we'll tell him together. But I think you might want to tell him now. If something is wrong with Clovis, they might want to get him _before_ he gets lost in the woods." He muttered while Fae studied his face with a concerned look, her gaze hushing down to his hands still under his shirt.

"Did you get hurt during training?" She asked, but he merely shook his head with a small smile.

"No, not really. Just need a break. I'll see you guys later."

"Sure thing." Dylan immediately piped up, and Bill was too done with the world to tell him he had meant _Dimitri and Fae_.

"Okay. Take care, then. Dylan, you're coming with me. We'll tell Annabeth Chase, she's easier to talk to than Chiron, and you can't make it about the four guys again for no reason whatsoever." Fae announced and motioned for Dylan to follow her with a last pointed look towards Bill, which either said 'Be careful' or 'Why do I have to do this? Pray for me, mate'.

(Might have also been a bit of both.)

"Okay." Dylan said quickly, looking oddly eager for a moment with his cheeks flushing pink, though there was no cold wind or anything that might have warranted that.

"Wait, what? I have perfect reasons every time!" Dylan then added as he rushed after Fae, who only shot him a dark look over her shoulder and hurried off, her curls bouncing behind her as she had her usual hop in her step.

Bill looked after them for a moment, then turned back towards his cabin and hurried inside, glad for the emptiness and quiet that greeted him.

Heaving a content sigh that promptly made him wince, he moved to his bunk and tugged off his shirt as he went, before checking around him again and working his binder off as well.

 _Finally_.

Slipping back into his loosest shirt he kept around just for these times, he let himself fall backwards onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a big sigh.

So, that had been Clovis, huh?

Maybe he should tell Nico about this, too.

The more he thought about it, the more he thought he had seen Nico and Clovis talk a few times before, so they might very well be friends.

That would explain why he had been in front of the Hades cabin, too.

Maybe he had wanted to talk to Nico.

Bill took another deep breath, then set his alarm on his watch to wake him in thirty minutes.

Time to waste time doing nothing productive whatsoever until he probably fell asleep from boredom.

...

"Does anybody else feel like today is one of those days where a lot of stuff happens, but not to you?" Will asked with an odd expression on his face as he stared at the piece of tomato on his fork.

Jason frowned, glancing sideways at Percy and Nico, who both had matching satisfied grins on their faces and sat with their sides pressing together, occasionally feeding each other with their respective meals.

Was he referring to them?

"No, not that. Just…I don't know. Today feels weird. Oh yeah, there were a lot of kids with headaches and such today, so I'm guessing there's either something going around, or the weather is changing." Will said as if he had read Jason's mind, but he wasn't surprised or perturbed, instead glancing up at the sky.

"The weather is changing. Looks like it will storm either tonight or tomorrow morning." He replied thoughtfully, studying the pattern of the clouds outside Camp.

Percy looked up at that, shooting Jason an amused look, though when Jason raised an eyebrow, he refrained from commenting and returned his attention to Nico and his meal.

"Yeah, today was definitely _something_ , alright." He mused as he held out his fork to Nico, who took the bite and gave him a pointed look.

Those two.

"Probably later tonight, then. Thanks, Jason. If you had said it wasn't the weather, I'd have stayed the night in the infirmary to make sure everything is okay. At this rate though, it should be fine to stick to the schedule and be done with it." Will said thoughtfully as he tapped Percy's vegetables with his fork to show Percy he still had to eat those, before returning to his own salad.

Jason studied him from the side, but he seemed okay right now.

Earlier, when Jason had walked into the infirmary (and promptly been brought to Will before he had even managed to say hello to anybody in particular), Will had seemed a bit confused and disorientated, looking around him a lot and checking his watch, before shaking his head and returning to whatever he was doing.

Jason had worried initially, especially after what Nico had told him earlier with Will's apparent day-time visions, but Will hadn't really said anything about it, and after a while his fidgeting had stopped again, though he had remained unusually quiet for the rest of the time.

"If you want to stay over in the infirmary anyways, you can, Will. We'd join you anytime as well, if you want or need us to." Jason offered quietly, and Percy and Nico immediately nodded in agreement, before Percy tried to sneak his vegetables onto Nico's plate – something that both Nico and Will prevented.

"Nah, it's okay. I'm happy if I don't have to stay the night. Bad memories." Will said cheerily, and Jason instinctively felt as if he had swallowed a brick, though the sensation vanished a moment later when realization set in how easily Will managed to admit to such things these days.

He wasn't referring to the cheery voice, of course – that was something that showed it wasn't quite _that_ easy for Will yet, but the fact he mentioned it at all was already much more than Jason might have expected in such a short amount of time.

It was one of the things that gave Jason such high hopes Will would come out soon with whatever his visions were about, too.

Surely, with some more time, Will would realize he could trust them with that knowledge, too; they just had to be patient.

"Hey, you know what would be cool? We could all go _swimming_ tonight!" Percy suddenly exclaimed, and Jason frowned at him, wondering where he had just randomly gotten _that_ idea from.

"Percy, we _just_ said there'll be a storm later." He pointed out, while Nico buried his face in his hands and said nothing at all, and Will gazed at Percy with a raised eyebrow, chewing his salad almost thoughtfully.

"Actually, you said there _might_ be a storm later tonight. Plus, it shouldn't affect the Camp anyways, thanks to all the magic stuff. Come on, it would be fun! Plus, look at the time, it's already seven, and still freaking warm. I checked the water earlier, it's got a _great_ temperature. It will be fun!" Percy insisted, sounding absolutely convinced that this was the _perfect_ idea for their group.

It was not.

"Percy, that's…" He started, but then Will put his fork down and nodded.

"You know what, why not? With the cleaning harpies gone, we won't even have to dread being caught quite as much. It will be like the ice skating thing all over again, just that Jason will be part of it too, and if you and Nico make out again, I can join in this time." Will suddenly piped up, and all three of them blinked at him.

Even Percy seemed initially surprised to actually be supported, but he caught himself just as quickly again, grinning at Jason smugly.

"See? Told you it's a great idea, _Sparky_."

One of these days, Jason was going to point out to him that 'Sparky' was something he regularly called Jason during sex, and that Jason was seriously beginning to get confused every time Percy used that term outside of that context.

Will patted his back.

"It will be fun, Handsome."

Jason looked back up at the sky, but guessed they were right.

Though it still seemed like a bad idea.

Then again, maybe it was just Jason, because usually the guys didn't give in this quickly if it truly was a bad idea.

"Plus, if we had to suffer through the ice skating, you gotta suffer through this. Be happy he doesn't want to go skinny dipping with you." Will added, and Jason had a hunch this was his actual reasoning behind agreeing.

Percy's face instantly brightened, his eyes _gleaming_.

"Oh! We should totally-…"

"Don't even think about it." Jason immediately cut in, because he knew that expression, and his answer was _no_.

"But it would be fun! Come on, how many times in your life are you going to be able to do that? Just think of all the stories you could tell our kids! Not everybody can claim they have gone skinny dipping in the lake at Camp Half-Blood! It's an achievement!" Percy insisted heatedly, but Jason wasn't moved.

"I think you and I both know we have enough stories to tell, with or without skinny dipping. If you want to do it, go ahead. I definitely won't." He replied with a shrug, and Percy promptly pouted.

"Party pooper. I'm gonna tell the kids you were the boring one always sticking to sense and reason."

Nico had his forehead on the table now – not commenting, but Jason could see the tips of his ears poking out flaming red between his dark brown hair, though he wasn't sure what Nico was flustered about.

Percy had talked about skinny dipping before already, after all, this was hardly any news to them.

"Whatever makes you happy, Percy." He retorted with a small shrug, and Percy sulked even more.

Then, his expression suddenly brightened again, and Jason had to admit he was feeling a teensy bit unnerved when his boyfriend suddenly leaned forward with a crooked grin and an oddly…seductive…look on his face.

"Oh, but _Jason_ …just think about it. You, me, naked, on the bottom of the lake…"

" _By the gods_ …" Nico groaned and moved his arms over his head, clearly not wanting to partake in this conversation in any sort of way, while Will cackled and sipped on his juice with mirth in his eyes.

"Are you trying to seduce me with your body? I thought Nico took care of you earlier." Jason deadpanned, and Percy made a face and crossed his arms in front of his chest with a huff, looking disappointed.

"Well, actually, I was trying to hint at you being the one taking it this time. I mean, it would only be fair if _I_ got your first time, seeing as you got mine." He sulked, and Jason's eyebrows shot up, while Will next to him cackled into his drink, before hurriedly beginning to seriously drink again once Jason shot him a pointed look.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Percy. I already promised my first time to Will."

There was a choking sound next to him, then Will spit his juice across the table, while Percy fell backwards off the bench with a startled sound, and Nico looked up and around in alarm, now apparently regretting not having paid attention.

"You…I… _what_?!" Will sputtered with a bright red face, his eyes searching Jason's, while Jason blinked back at him, then at Percy.

"You did _what_?! _Will_! Why?!" Percy cried from the other end of the table as he fought his way back up and onto the bench, looking disheveled and disturbed and devastated.

"Me?! I didn't know this until now, either!" Will defended himself, and Jason frowned at them both.

"Will, we've talked about this before, haven't we? I offered you countless times-…" Jason started, not understanding what their problem was.

Percy made a weak sound and gestured with his arms faintly, before looking at Nico with a helpless, disbelieving expression.

"Can you believe those two? There I made such great plans, and he doesn't want me, Nico."

Jason had never said that.

"Well, yes, but you didn't say you were waiting for me to actually…actually…I just thought you were _trying to be nice_!" Will exclaimed, his freckles now beginning to glow, while Nico sputtered something unintelligible as he seemed to catch on.

Jason was positively _offended_.

"Will, I would never offer if I didn't mean it. You should know that by now."

"Well, yeah, _now_. But not…not…" Will stammered, and now Percy was watching them with an almost gleeful look on his face, all sulking apparently forgotten in a heartbeat as he covered his mouth with his hand, though Jason could still hear his snickering just fine.

"The last time I told you that was _one week ago_ , Will!" Jason pointed out, though he wasn't even sure whether it had even _been_ a week since he had last offered Will to let him top.

Will looked ready to explode.

Percy was cackling to himself.

Nico had his head on the table again.

Jason huffed to himself and returned his attention to his food, for once sulking, himself.

 _Unbelievable_.

There he had been _the first_ to offer himself to Will that way, had been the one to repeatedly point it out – and nobody had taken him seriously?

Will stammered some unintelligible things next to him, just to break off and take a deep breath – before he turned towards Jason, tapping him on the shoulder resolutely.

Jason turned his head towards him, still sulking.

"I'll give you the best first time you could have ever dreamed of, Handsome. You bet on it." Will declared with utmost conviction, and Percy nearly fell off the bench again with a strangled, surprised sound.

Jason and Will shot him pointed looks, then Jason gazed back at Will, his heart thumping away happily in his chest.

"I'll hold you to it." He replied, and Will's lips curled into an almost shy smile.

"Yeah, well, _not tonight_ , guys! We're going swimming tonight!" Percy cut in quickly, and Kayla stopped behind him as she was passing them.

"Swimming? Sounds like fun. If you mean in the lake, make sure to wait until Chiron is done with his new nightly patrol. Happens sometime after eight, but before 9pm he should be back in the Big House." She told them as she leaned over the table slightly and winked at Will, though it was Percy who hugged her middle and nearly squealed.

"Thanks for the heads up! What would we do without you, my favorite sister-in-law!"

Jason was tempted to bury his face in his hands, though Kayla's momentarily stunned expression was certainly worth watching as she stared down at Percy, clearly overwhelmed with the sudden proximity.

"Oh gods, Percy, let go of my sister, you creep." Will chided, though there was a grin on his face and no heat in his words.

"No. She's my sister now. I always wanted a sister, anyways."

"Percy, if she was your sister, I'd be your brother." Will deadpanned, and Percy promptly let go of Kayla again.

"Okay, sorry, this isn't working out. Sorry, Kayla."

Jason rolled his eyes, wondering whether he should say anything.

"That's alright. I can still be your favorite sister-in-law, after all. Have fun swimming tonight, guys." She replied easily and ruffled through Percy's hair, who beamed up at her as if she was the most amazing creature in the world – and Jason found himself reaching out automatically to tug on the sleeve of his t-shirt impatiently, drawing his attention away from Will's half-sister and back to himself.

Which was a stupid thing to do, because he didn't even know what to say, so he just frowned at Percy disapprovingly while Percy blinked at him in question and confusion.

He heard Will talking to Kayla, thanking her and saying something about the schedule and the infirmary, but Jason was still gazing at Percy, wondering what he could possibly say to cover up his blatant act of jealousy right there.

Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything fast enough before Percy figured him out, a teasing grin making its way onto his face as he stroked along Jason's arm with one finger.

"Aww, are we a little _jealous_ , Jason? You know you are the only one for me." Percy cooed the moment Kayla was out of earshot, and Will promptly huffed.

"Oh yeah? And what are Nico and I? Next door neighbors?"

Percy shot him a sulky look.

"You know what I mean."

Then, he returned his focus on Jason, his hand snatching Jason's before he could pull it away.

"No, but seriously, I was just playing. I'm all yours, Jason. Yours and Will's and Nico's and I wouldn't want it any other way." Percy said seriously, his expression sincere, which gave Jason pause momentarily.

Then, he huffed out a small laugh and felt his heart fluttering in his chest once more.

Will smiled at them fondly, and Nico had stopped hiding his face, instead sitting there with his chin resting on his crossed arms, a small grin on his face.

"I love you too, Percy." Jason replied softly.

Percy's smile widened until he beamed at him, his sea-green eyes gleaming affectionately.

Their fingers threaded together.

Yes, he really loved him.

Jason smiled back at him, the magic of the moment only interrupted when Percy tried to sneak his vegetables onto Jason's plate, though he helped him with it, their ruse going unnoticed by both Nico and Will.

"You're the bestest. In more ways than one." Percy said once they were done, and Jason shook his head with a small laugh.

"Still, no skinny dipping." He reminded Percy before he could try anything, and Percy tried to act heartbroken, though his eyes were full of mirth, anyways.

"Aww."

...

"Percy, this water is _freezing cold_!" Will complained, though he still swam after his boyfriend, trying not to think of all the things that could be beneath them right now.

Sure, Percy had assured them the naiads would leave them in peace, but one could never be safe enough.

Seriously, though, if anybody had told Will last November that he'd end up _willingly_ going into the lake in the middle of the night to swim with his boyfriends, he'd have…taken the person's temperature and assumed they suffered from some sort of curse or madness.

Will glanced over his shoulder, just to find Nico following him with a mingled expression, clearly doubting this, while Jason had stepped into the water and promptly frozen, staring off into space with a blank look on his face that probably meant he was questioning all his life choices right now.

With a small huff, Will returned his attention to Percy, who was happily swimming ahead of them and splashed around with water, looking perfectly in his element even though it was 10pm at night and everything was dark and cool around them – except the water, which was _still_ freezing cold.

"You'll get used to it, sun-bug." Was all his boyfriend called back to him, so Will huffed and followed, never one to back down.

"Couldn't we have done this during the day?" Nico asked behind him hesitantly, but Jason promptly huffed, still not moving from his spot.

"Don't give him ideas. I let him get into the lake _once_ , and it took me _hours_ to get him back out, even though _everybody was watching_. Not gonna do a repeat-performance of that, forget it."

Wow, it sure sounded like that had been a fun day.

"Would you like to go swimming with me during the day, Nico? Bet that would be awesome, especially if the rest of the week is as warm as the past days." Percy instantly piped up as he lazily swam on his back, making it seem like the easiest and most graceful thing in the world, while Will struggled along.

He was a fairly decent swimmer, but when he couldn't see anything and the water was this cold, he preferred to keep his limbs close to his body and rather move slowly and effectively, thank you very much.

Freaking _cold_!

This was like that one time in Salt Lake City all over again!

Unfortunately, Will's mind immediately complied him with the memory of how much _fun_ they had had that day, in that lake, and he huffed and followed Percy with renewed vigor, vaguely realizing they were moving towards the center of the lake.

"I can't feel my toes." Nico pointed out behind him, and Will wanted to laugh, but that would only make him swallow water unnecessarily.

"Keep moving, you'll get warmer in a moment." He assured his boyfriend, and Percy let out a sound of approval, his eyes gleaming so beautifully it made Will want to grab and kiss him – but for that, he'd first have to catch up.

He urged himself to swim faster, his teeth chattering and his skin tingling in the cool water, but if it meant reaching his boyfriend, then it was worth it.

Unfortunately, Percy decided to be a dick and started picking up his pace, too, still swimming backwards and with his eyes on Will, which meant he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Stop cheating and face me like a man, Percy!" Will exclaimed when he _almost_ had him but Percy slipped away, and his boyfriend cackled quietly as he wiggled his eyebrows – then he disappeared from view.

Oh no.

"If you drag me underwater, I'm going to kick you in the face!" Will hissed at the water, stopping where he was, just to nearly shriek when Nico accidentally collided with him.

"Sorry! I didn't see you – which is weird, because your hair is…but I was looking at…oh, whatever." Nico tried to apologize, the two of them holding onto each other as they looked around.

"Wait, where did Percy go?" Nico then asked suspiciously, and Will huffed.

" _Guess_."

"Oh no."

"What? What is going on? Everything okay?" Jason asked from where he was still treading shallow waters, though their behavior seemed to make him a bit more willing to come inside and check on them, mother hen that he was.

"Percy is- _eeeek_!" Nico cut himself off with a shriek and nearly leaped onto Will, who merely groaned, already knowing what was going to happen before it did.

A hand wrapped around his ankle, and even though Will thought he was mentally prepared, he still jumped, half expecting to be pulled down.

Instead, the next moment, he felt something moving upwards between him and Nico, brushing against his skin, a hand smoothing along his side, before…

Before Percy's head broke the surface and he _freaking_ _spat water at him_.

Will made a disgusted sound and tried to push Percy away, while also simultaneously trying to cover his face.

Nico reacted faster than him and started splashing water at Percy with an indignant 'Percy Jackson, you're _the worst_!', but Percy merely cackled loudly and splashed back at them without even moving his arms, which was _absolutely unfair_.

Needless to say, they started a water fight, which wasn't even a water fight, because this was now Percy's water, and he enjoyed reminding them with his attacks.

"You cheater!" Will shrieked before a giant wave crashed over him, making him momentarily go underwater – though he wasn't scared, merely resurfacing and splashing Nico in the face, because by now it was every man for himself.

Jason joined in as well, though Will wasn't sure when exactly – he was simply there at some point and Will promptly splashed him, right before Percy tackled him from behind, and that's simply how it was.

In other words, they had fun.

Unlike his expectations though, this was nothing like the ice skating back in January with Percy and Nico.

Back then, they had tried to be sneaky, but also have fun, while constantly getting sidetracked with each other and their usual bickering (and _maybe_ some sexual tension, Will admitted).

Now, they weren't even trying to rein in their laughter, and for all they knew Chiron was already there and yelling for them to get out of the water and back to their cabin, but nobody bothered to check.

Now, they were having fun and nothing could distract them from that, no cleaning harpies to attack them, and no care in the world for anybody else.

Will managed to slosh water at Nico at just the right angle to make him swallow a mouthful, which had his boyfriend looking adorably murderous as he shot through the water to get to him, suddenly a much quicker swimmer than Will remembered.

He tried to hide behind Jason, but Jason took one look at their advancing boyfriend – and promptly fled, leaving Will defenseless as he squeaked and tried to swim for his life.

"Hold your breath!" Was all the warning he got before Nico had him and wrapped himself around him like a monkey – and Will sucked in a deep breath, then his head went underwater.

They played around some more, the water now feeling much warmer than before, and Will didn't even immediately notice when they stopped resurfacing for air, instead settling for playing with the water _inside_ the water.

It made playfully drowning his boyfriends much more difficult (or pretty much impossible, really), but the underwater-breathing-ability totally made it worth it.

Percy grinned at him smugly, probably expecting praise or an awed remark, but Will merely stuck out his tongue at him and swam over to Jason, wrapping himself around him from behind and acting like a baby monkey.

"Carry me, I'm tired." He complained, amazed how clear and audible his voice was, given that they were underwater.

Seriously, he was never going to get used to how amazing this was.

Jason chuckled but didn't complain, swimming after Percy with long strokes and Will on his back, who was now acting more as if he was riding a horse (or a…dolphin? Whale? Fish?) than clinging to him exaggeratedly, which had Nico cracking up laughing next to them as he moved to follow.

Percy watched them with glee in his eyes, then wiggled his eyebrows at Nico.

"Wanna bet Nico and I would be tons faster?"

That wasn't even a bet, it was a fact.

"Only if you cheat. Jason is a superb swimmer. You wouldn't stand a chance, Percy." Will declared cockily, though they all knew he was bluffing.

It still worked, of course.

"Never! Jason, this is _it_. You're on! I will beat you without using my powers, wanna bet?" Percy exclaimed and tugged Nico closer, trying to get him to comply, which Nico did with a conflicted look on his face and an apologetic shrug towards Will, who was grinning from ear to ear.

They could barely see in the dark, but somehow it felt easier to see underwater than it had been outside the water – maybe Percy had something to do with that, too?

Will wouldn't put it past him, at any rate.

"If you insist." Jason agreed with a small shrug, and Will rubbed his hands together excitedly, which had all three of them shooting him pointed looks that he ignored in favor of cackling.

"You'll be on the losing side, sun-bug." Percy declared, but Will only huffed and patted Jason's shoulder, swallowing his remark of 'Mine is bigger than Nico's', though that was only because Nico was already flustered enough.

"We shall see, Gorgeous. Just make sure to play fair and square."

"If I played fair and square we would all be drowning right now." Percy remarked, but then started moving downwards, causing Nico to let out a startled noise and cling to him with a frantic flail of his arms.

Jason and Will shared a look and followed Percy, diving to the bottom of the lake where he was busy drawing a long, more or less straight line into the dirt.

"This is the starting line. How far do you think you can go, Grace?" Percy asked cockily, and Will and Jason shared another look, before raising their eyebrows at Percy simultaneously.

"I don't know, how long will it take you to admit defeat?" Jason sassed back, and Percy looked adorably offended, though he caught himself a moment later and huffed indignantly, letting Nico float off his back.

"Oh, you're _on_ , Grace."

And with that, he turned around and started swimming off into the distance swiftly, his movements as smooth and graceful and reminding Will a bit of dancing.

They watched him go and go and go, until Jason snorted and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Is he swimming to the other side of the lake?" Nico asked with a conflicted look on his face, while Will snorted out a small laugh.

"What do you think?"

"We should have brought some sort of light source. I can barely see anything." Jason mumbled into his hands, and while Will agreed, he couldn't help but grin.

"You should take your hands off your eyes then, sweetheart. Might help."

"Smartass." Jason huffed, but then grinned at him and gave him a peck on the cheek a moment later anyways, so Will was happy.

"I think we'll be more than fine with the light we got." Nico mused quietly, a hint of amusement in his voice as he studied Will's face, but Will wasn't sure what he meant.

There wasn't really any light around, at least not as far as he could see – though he thought everything around them seemed to be faintly illuminated, anyways, for whatever reason ever.

Maybe the moon?

He wasn't even sure it was up far enough yet for that.

"There we go. You're all set? Now is the last chance for you to back out, Jace. After all, we both know you don't stand a chance against me." Percy stated, appearing out of nowhere and nearly giving them a heart attack, which made their boyfriend cackle at the lot of them.

"We'll see about that, Perce." Jason replied, and Will moved his legs back around his hips to straddle his back, feeling kind of silly but also kind of proud, which was a by now normal sensation around his guys.

Nico copied him with a less enthusiastic expression, though Will also caught the way he blushed ever so faintly when Percy told him to hold onto him tighter.

"Alright, ready?" Percy asked, his eyes now gleaming with determination.

"It should totally be Nico giving the starting signal, he's the only impartial one here." Will cut in, and Nico shot him an alarmed look, while Percy made a face.

"Are you trying to say I would cheat? Me? Never. Plus, Nico wants _me_ to win, what else?" Percy insisted, but Nico merely shrugged, crushing his boyfriend's hopes immediately.

"I don't really care who wins, as long as I don't drown or get lost on the way."

Percy pouted – something that looked even more adorable underwater for some reason, with his unruly hair floating around him and his eyes gleaming even more than usual – but Nico couldn't see that, instead gazing at Will thoughtfully with his lips twitching faintly, which Will didn't understand, but didn't question, anyways.

Jason was looking up at him, too, studying his face with an amused expression, though when Will frowned at him in question, his boyfriend merely shook his head and looked back at Percy again.

"So, Nico gives the starting signal?"

Percy's pout intensified, but then he, too, glanced towards Will with his lips twitching, before he let out a loud sigh and shrugged theatrically, taking his place behind the starting line with Nico clinging to him once more.

"Alright, fine. Though I thought you would trust me more than that. Oh well."

Yeah, yeah.

They were literally at the bottom of a lake and one moment of inattention from Percy's side could kill them, but hey, they were definitely not trusting him one bit, nope.

"Ready?" Nico asked, not looking very confident on Percy's back, which made Will equally wish to reassure him, as well as use this to his and Jason's advantage.

He settled for a simple thumbs-up and they nodded their affirmation, before Nico cleared his throat again (which sounded super funny underwater for some reason).

"Ready. Set. Erm…do I say go? Swim? What?" Nico trailed off awkwardly, and both Jason and Percy – who had been more than ready to start – deflated again.

"Oh, whatever. _Start_!" Nico exclaimed unexpectedly, and Will laughed loudly when both of their boyfriends let out matching sounds of distress and started rushing forward, _both of them_ cheating by pushing off the ground with their feet to get a head start.

"Cheater!" They both yelled at each other, then there was no talking anymore, but lots of frantic swimming, while Nico and Will both laughed and tried holding onto their boyfriends without holding them back too much, which proved to be quite the challenge when in motion.

This had been a _great_ idea!

Obviously, Percy won.

Jason had given his best though, so Will made sure to boost his self-esteem by giving him a kiss on the cheek and a soft 'You were amazing, Jason', which promptly had him grinning like a winner, too.

Percy in the meantime was whooping and turning around himself and swimming up and down as if doing his own sort of victory dance, undoubtedly waking any naiad that might have been sleeping in this lake.

"Yes, you were great, Percy." Nico confirmed, watching his boyfriends with a fond smile on his face, and Will grinned and tugged Jason along with him towards his favorite Italian – and their dorky Percy.

"He's so cute when he's like this." Nico whispered as soon as they were next to him, and Will chuckled.

"He sure is. Kind of shows he wasn't cheating, else he'd be bragging non-stop instead of being so genuinely happy." He replied, looking around them at their still oddly illuminated surroundings.

Maybe it truly _was_ the moon.

"I know someone else who seems genuinely happy right now." Jason said, sounding amused, and Will glanced sideways at him in question, just to find him looking right at him.

Nico was, too.

"Me? Oh wow, what gave it away? The smile on my face? The joy in my words?" He deadpanned, though he had to admit the way they exchanged telling looks made him frown slightly.

What? Did he have something on his face?

They had been glancing at him quite a few times now, after all.

"Actually, I'd say it's your radiant personality." Nico replied with ill-concealed glee, and now Will did touch his face, though he didn't find anything wrong with it.

A mirror would be great now.

"Nah, it's definitely his dazzling appearance." Jason argued, and Will frowned, glancing down at his swimming shorts, though they seemed rather bland, in his opinion.

"You mean his brilliant smile?" Nico asked, studying Will's face with what he probably intended to be a thoughtful look, though his lips kept quirking into a smile.

Will only frowned even harder.

"Guys, stop teasing him. Will, you're glowing." Percy put in, nudging both their boyfriends with a chiding look, while Will looked back at his hands.

"No, I'm not." He argued confused, but then got distracted by both Jason and Nico groaning and poking Percy's sides.

"Oh, come on, did you have to tell him yet?"

"I was about to take one out of your book and swoon him with a perfect pick-up line!"

Nico and Jason complained, but Will was too busy looking up, trying to glance at his own hair.

Wait a moment…

"Wait, why is my hair glowing?" He asked, now _definitely_ confused, and all three of his boyfriends looked around at him, their lips quirking into three matching smiles.

"Miniature sun." "Convenience." "Radioactivity."

Nico, Jason and Percy explained with utmost conviction, and Will made a face at all three of them.

"First of all, how dare you. Percy, you can kiss my ass. Seriously, for how long have I been glowing? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, and while Percy snickered and cackled to himself, Nico and Jason both shrugged.

"You kind of started glowing faintly every here and there since we got into the water, and started permanently glowing once you started clinging to Jason and smiled at us, so I figured it was your usual glowing when you're happy." Nico explained, while Jason nodded along.

"I kind of thought you knew. I mean, there _is_ no other light around. Your freckles are glowing as well, but mostly on your face and shoulders." He added, and Will tried to get a good look of his own shoulders.

Indeed, he was glowing.

Not by much, of course, but still plainly visible.

Will looked back up towards the surface, feeling as if the world had cheated him somehow.

So it hadn't been the moon, huh?

"Aww, don't pout. It's adorable! Plus, I thrive to make you happy. Let me take you for another round around the lake? You can ride me. It will be like swimming with dolphins." Percy suggested as Will tugged on a strand of his own hair to study the intensity of the glow, and Will instantly grinned.

"Dolphins? Sorry Percy, but you'll always be my little killer whale." He said with a hand on his heart, and Percy promptly made a face at him.

"Really? I always thought of him more along the lines of a baby seal. You know, because of his puppy face." Nico mused, while Jason huffed out a small laugh.

"And there I thought we'd all agree he'd make a perfect seahorse."

The three of them shared pointed looks and laughed, while Percy eyed them unimpressed.

"You're the worst. I'm not even sure what I'm most offended about."

"Nico's is cute. How could you be offended about being a baby seal?" Will asked with a disbelieving laugh, but Percy seemed to sulk.

"I always wanted to be a dolphin though…"

Well, the face he was giving them _definitely_ reminded him of a baby seal though.

"Okay, my mighty dolphin. Take me around the lake, then." Will placated him easily and left his safe spot between Nico and Jason to swim to Percy, trying to push down his fatigue.

He was handling the late hour better than he used to, but by now even with Jason mostly supporting him, he was beginning to feel the exhaustion more and more.

Then again, if he was _glowing_ , that might also be the reason behind that, since he was pretty sure that required his energy, too.

Percy's face instantly brightened, all sulking forgotten, and Will found himself tugged closer immediately, so he chuckled and moved to cling to his boyfriend like a monkey again.

"Aww, look, now it's almost as if they're both glowing." Jason tried to whisper to Nico, but thanks to the water and Will's excellent hearing, he still caught it perfectly fine, same as Percy, so both of them stuck their tongues out at their boyfriends, before Percy turned around – and then they were already moving, Will half concerned and half excited by how fast they managed to push through the water when Percy _was_ using his powers.

He still remembered the stories Percy had told them and the stories that had been told about Percy, but this had either been conveniently left out, or Percy had only developed these abilities over time.

Either way, Will wished he could do something like that, too.

"Alright, you're a dolphin, just don't make us break the surface and do weird stunts, okay?" He tried to say into Percy's ear, but wasn't quite sure how much he actually understood, though it seemed to be enough to make him laugh and turn his head to wink at him.

Will nudged him to look back at where he was going, then pressed himself against Percy's back to look at their surroundings curiously.

At this time of night, and with the darkness still around them, not to mention the limited size of the lake, there wasn't _much_ to see, but it still impressed Will nonetheless.

They rounded the lake once, then both of them waved at their boyfriends with matching grins before going for another round, and this time Percy apparently tried to give him a real dolphin-like experience and whirled them around a little, causing them both to laugh loudly by the time they got back to their boyfriends, and Will feeling incredibly dizzy, though in his fatigue that almost felt good.

Certainly made him even sleepier, though.

"You know, we should probably head back to the cabin." Nico mused pointedly the moment Will was safely back between him and Jason, and Will eyed them suspiciously, trying to see whether they had noticed his exhaustion or had a different reason for calling it a night.

"Yeah, I bet the storm is gonna hit soon, too, so we should definitely go. Thanks to me, you're all not gonna catch colds because I can dry you off in seconds, how awesome is that?" Percy claimed and patted himself on the shoulder, which had them sharing a look before poking their boyfriend in the stomach and both teasing him and agreeing to his statement, reassuring him because it was true and because they had a too good of a mood to make him pout for no reason.

"Come on, Freckles, up we go." Jason said next to him, but by the time Will moved his head, Jason already had his arm around him and tugged him along with him upwards, which Will only let happen because he was tired and he knew he could get away with it.

A moment later, they broke the surface, closely followed by Nico and Percy, and Will's first reaction to the night air and the moon up high in the sky, was that his teeth promptly started chattering.

"The world is a cold and cruel place, Jason." He decided, and Jason snorted out a small laugh, fixing him with an amused look as Will wrapped himself around his boyfriend again and let him take him to the lake shore.

"Because you're cold?"

"Yep. And a few other reasons, but right now, that one's definitely number two on the list." Will stated with a resolute nod and Nico shot him an odd look from the side, but didn't say anything.

Will wondered whether he was glowing again, but as he tugged on a strand of his own, very wet hair, it seemed a lot less glow-y than before.

"What's number one?" Jason asked curiously, but Will merely shrugged.

There was no way he'd tell them _that_.

He glanced towards Percy, who was swimming next to them with a pleased look on his face.

It was better if they didn't know.

Will looked up at the sky above them, and promptly squeezed Jason's shoulder insistently to get him to do the same.

"Whoa." Jason uttered in surprise, stopping in his swimming even though Will would have sort of preferred the movement, but the view _was_ pretty cool.

Percy and Nico both stopped as well, blinking at them in confusion before they noticed, too.

"Well, guess the storm is already here, huh?" Percy mused, sounding vaguely impressed, while Nico gazed in unconcealed wonder at the assortment of clouds that surrounded the Camp at the borders, same as the rain that was crashing down over there, while here it was perfectly dry (next to the fact they were in the water, of course).

The weather was…just like their situation right now.

Out there, the world was a mess, while here was their safe haven.

Thanks to Thalia's Pine and the golden fleece, as well as Leo and Calypso, their Camp borders were strong enough to keep anything and everything harmful out, but none of those things would protect them once they'd be _outside_.

And soon, they would have to go out there – outside Camp and away from their safe haven, away from all of this and anything that could protect them.

Will didn't want to go.

Or better said: He didn't want his guys to go.

They knew Jason would leave no matter what, because Jason was the human equivalent of responsibility, but Will still wished he could simply stay and let somebody else take care of the contract some other time, when there were no dangers lurking in the dark, hidden from their view and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Like the lightning and the thunder out there, striking at apparent random, yet also so unnervingly controlled and deliberate.

Will wondered whether that was supposed to show him something, give him some sort of warning.

For a moment, the scene shifted, and he could see a rush of everything and nothing, of figures that appeared once and that appeared many times, of words that were said or left unsaid, of hundreds of scenes that might or might not happen, of the Camp being and the Camp not being.

Will shook his head in confusion, only capable of making sense of the images afterwards, though they didn't make any sense at all.

Nico watched him with a concerned look on his face, so Will was quick to smile at him, though he knew it wasn't his most convincing one and he returned his attention to the night sky hastily once more.

 _Soon_.  
Soon, they'd have to leave.  
Soon, this would be over, nothing but memories of happy days that seemed too good to be true.  
Soon, Will would die.

Will wasn't ready for it, but some things nobody was ever ready for, and he had already decided to accept it.

His teeth started chattering again, though this time he had a hunch it wasn't the cold at fault.

"Jason, you should totally carry me to the cabin." Will suggested, pushing his face against Jason's very cold and wet hair to feel it against his skin.

"Sure. You know I'd carry you to the moon and back, Freckles." Jason agreed in a heartbeat, and Will's lips tugged into a small, pained smile.

"I know."

Unfortunately, he didn't have to go to the moon.


	14. Chapter 14: Peaceful Times

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes :D

Guess who finally got the internet working again XD No, seriously, something is wrong with the lines (or w.e they are called) here so internet/telephone is a bit buggy at the moment.

Sorry for the long wait.

Here comes the next chapter :D Enjoy the fluff, next chapter is gonna be rough. (But don't break your heads over it, it's gonna be okay for sure :))

Also, I have decided once we reach the point when chapter 16 (our last chapter QAQ I am in tears) comes out, I'll wait with uploading anything of the new story until I have a decent headstart, so I can guarantee regular updates and know I'm not messing up the story by rushing anything.  
That will also give me some time to look over Love, Dreams, Blah and WoB once more for all my spelling mistakes, so I'm hoping to do some edits there.

Hope you enjoy the chapter :D

Wish you all the best,  
-Tári

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Peaceful Times**

When Will woke up, he first didn't understand _why_ he had woken up.

He had been dreaming so nicely, the bed was nice and warm and comfortable, he could have totally slept another hour or two longer.

But then, he heard Percy's pleading mewls and Jason's tired mumbling, and suddenly, his waking up made a lot more sense.

As did the palpable sexual energy in the room that should have probably confused Will more than it had.

"But _Jason_ …" Percy whined, his breathing ragged and his voice raspy.

Will turned his head with a frown, spotting his boyfriend sandwiched between Jason and Nico, who had apparently had a hell of a time turning Percy on, just to now go back to sleep due to lingering exhaustion and lazy comfort – at least that's what Will gathered from the overwhelming fatigue and the hints of guilt in both of his boyfriends, while Percy was a needy mess.

Oh dear.

Jason mumbled another apology, but also stroked along Percy's side and placed lazy kisses along Percy's neck, so that didn't help Percy one bit, either.

How mean.

"You can't just rile me up like that and drop me again out of nowhere! Jason! Nico! It was _your_ idea in the first place!" Percy lamented, trailing off in a series of more complaints as he wriggled and writhed between them for some sort of relief, but Nico was completely knocked out by now, and Jason was too tired to even keep his eyes open for longer than a few seconds.

Seriously, those guys.

Will stretched his limbs lazily and contemplated his options, then glanced back towards their window, where the first beams of sunlight filtered through the gap in the curtains.

A slow smile spread on his lips.

He loved summer.

"Percy, leave them alone, they're too tired to be of much help." He told his boyfriend quietly, and Jason promptly hummed in agreement and mumbled his thanks, while Percy made a sound of utmost distress.

"But…but…"

Will suppressed a smile and made to sit up somewhat.

"If you want release, I suggest you come over here."

Percy actually hesitated for a whole second, before Will found himself flattened into the mattress once more with Percy on top of him and their lips together faster than Will could blink.

Mauled by a wild Percy. Nice.

Will smirked to himself, which made Percy thrust his hips forward in protest, though Will ignored that in favor of deepening their kiss.

Eww, morning breath was the worst.

However, Percy was the best, so Will was going to politely ignore that for now.

Percy had other ideas apparently, because he pulled back a moment later, looking at him with dilated pupils and a pleading expression on his face that would have made Will weak in the knees had he been upright.

"But that's not what I need, Will! I need…I need…" He whined, glancing back towards Jason with yearning, and if Will wasn't already aware of what Percy wanted, he would have taken offense to that.

As it was, he merely grinned up at his boyfriend and dragged him back down so his lips lined up with Percy's ear.

"I know _exactly_ what you need, Gorgeous." He purred and pulled back slightly to watch Percy's eyes widen – before he let out a startled sound as Will flipped them over and pressed Percy into the mattress.

"And aren't you just lucky it happens to be morning? Oh, I'll make sure to help you out in all the best ways, my love." Will continued, and Percy looked up at him in a mixture of awe and need.

Then, he let out a wanting moan and Will grinned and pressed their lips together once more, his hands roaming over Percy's chest.

Percy was already so riled up he didn't need any foreplay, but that didn't mean Will had to deny himself the pleasure of teasing and getting into the proper mood, himself.

Will trailed down his body, nipping on his collarbone as his hands took hold of Percy's hips to keep him in place beneath him.

Percy opened his mouth to complain, but then Will already slipped one hand under Percy to feel for his entrance and determine how much prepping he would need – and Percy let out a rather eager sound and lifted his hips to help with the task.

Will hummed against his nipple in appreciation, then stopped short when he felt his finger pushing into wet heat easily.

"Oh? Who prepped you so nicely, Percy?" He purred against his skin as Percy moaned and bit his lips to stop himself from smiling – even if it was a wasted effort.

"Nico did." Percy panted as he glanced sideways towards their boyfriends for a second, but then his attention was back on Will.

Oh, that explained Percy's state, then.

Nico was surprisingly good with his fingers, even though he didn't seem to know just what he was doing for the most part.

"I'm more than ready, Will. Please, can't we just…?" Percy pleaded a moment later, and Will huffed against his nipple before sucking it back into his mouth, his fingers easily pushing in and out of Percy.

Well, Nico _had_ done a pretty good job, and Percy _was_ already desperate for more, so…technically, there was nothing stopping them.

Will tried to decide between the intimacy and the pleasure of foreplay, and the raw need for sex and the pleasure of topping.

Latter won.

He pulled away from Percy with a nod, then gave his hip a pat to signal for him to turn over as he searched for the lube that had to be _somewhere_ between Jason and Nico.

Percy made a small sound and immediately rushed to get out of his boxer shorts, nearly falling off the bed in an attempt to do so _and_ roll over at the same time.

"Guys? Lube." Will grumbled and nudged Jason, but his boyfriend merely shrugged in his sleep, while Nico mumbled something incoherent and turned his back to him.

Wow, _rude_.

"I'll be fine, Will." Percy insisted, and Will made the mistake of looking around at him, immediately falling victim to those eyes and the pleading expression on his face.

"Honey, I'll be rough enough on you. You're gonna want lube." He pointed out weakly, but also didn't argue when Percy started whining and telling him to just 'do it'.

Instead, he moved back to Percy and leaned over him to give him a kiss to his temple, as well as open the nightstand to grab the mini-bottle of lube in the far right corner, as well as a condom.

Good thing he was always prepared.

"Please! No lube, no condom, just _do it_ , Will! _Please_!" His boyfriend pleaded, and Will momentarily hesitated.

No condom? That was an odd request.

Though Percy had said that quite a few times now.

True, he had also mentioned wanting to try that out eventually, back when Will had bottomed for him…

Percy started wriggling and writhing beneath him, his backside rubbing against Will, though he tried to ignore that as he stripped his shirt and boxer shorts off and dropped a generous amount of lube into his palm, putting the condom down next to them in case Percy changed his mind.

"Patience, Percy." He chided, but Percy shot him a look that said he had been patient enough.

"I have waited _hours_ , Will."

Okay, okay.

Will grinned to himself as he put one hand on Percy's lower back, feeling the shiver as well as the rising anticipation and need rushing through his boyfriend.

Any other time, he might have been tempted to tease him a while longer.

But he knew Percy _had_ put out quite a while, so instead, he rubbed the tip of his dick against Percy's entrance to make him moan – then he pushed in, both awed and disturbed by the wet heat that welcomed him as he slid in easily.

" _Will_!" Percy gasped in a mixture of disbelief and urgency, rocking back against Will immediately, and Will let him, momentarily too floored by the rush of sensations and pleasure.

Then, he remembered he had promised Percy to give him all he wanted, so his hands flew to Percy's hips as his own thrust forward with more purpose and precision.

Percy howled beneath him, the sting apparently pleasant to him, if the waves of bliss and his euphoric ' _Yes_!' were anything to go by, and Will grinned to himself and doubled his efforts of pushing in and out of Percy at a quick but shallow pace.

"Like this?" He asked with a crooked grin, already knowing the answer, but taking way too much pleasure in watching Percy turning his head and giving him that _look_ , with his eyes heavy-lidded and his pupils blown wide and _that freaking smile on his lips_ – who seriously smiled during sex so much?

It was a mystery.

Will loved it.

Percy tried to hide it, biting his lip over and over again with his eyes falling shut, but every time he tried to speak the corners of his lips tugged right back up.

Will grabbed tighter hold of his sides and pushed all the way inside him, luring a drawn-out, low groan out of Percy that made Will's chest fill with triumph.

Their eyes locked, and Will switched to more sensual, deep thrusts that lacked speed but held more intensity.

Percy closed his eyes and bit his lip again to conceal the satisfied smirk, and Will joined in on the smiling as his hands moved to stroke along Percy's sides, then his lower back.

His boyfriend shivered beneath him and started meeting his thrusts, obviously trying not to seem too eager, though Will could feel it all inside him, anyways.

"You feel so good around me, Percy." He purred, mainly just to see Percy's face flush red.

"You're so corny."

Will thrust into him a tad harsher and Percy cried out, his chest hitting the blanket as his hips rushed to push back.

"Are you complaining?" Will asked with a raised eyebrow and his breath coming out in huffs, and Percy shot him a look as if he thought him crazy.

"Say anything you want, as long as you keep doing me."

Aww, how sweet.

Will grinned at him again, though he knew his smile was more predatory than anything else, and he leaned over Percy to press his lips to various spots along his spine until he was close enough to Percy's ear, while rolling his hips deliberately slowly instead of his earlier thrusting.

"Oh, just you wait. I'm going to 'do' you so good, Percy." He whispered and Percy's breath hitched, though his reply fell short as Will straightened up and started thrusting into him at a faster pace again, making him groan and whimper needily.

Oh gods, Will loved mornings.

Any other time of the day, he wouldn't have had enough stamina to pull off what he was about to do, but mornings made everything possible. It was wonderful.

Will alternated between holding onto Percy's sides and teasing his lower back, until he decided it was much easier if he just used one hand to push down on his favorite spot and dig his fingers into Percy's side with the other.

Percy was absolutely loving this.

Will knew he didn't _have_ to top this, Percy was more than happy with how things were now.

But that didn't mean he'd just back down like that, especially when he had made a promise.

So, he quickened his pace, pleased when Percy started chanting his name repeatedly with his face buried in his arms, but the moment he got too close to his climax, Will pulled out.

"Wha-… _Will_!" Percy immediately exclaimed with a voice of utmost betrayal and despair, but Will merely snatched the bottle of lube next to him and squeezed some into his hand to coat his fingers.

"Wait for it, Percy." He told him with a crooked grin and stilled Percy's hips with his free hand, the other one already making straight to push into Percy.

"But…" Percy whimpered, then groaned and dropped his face back onto his arms as Will started pushing against his prostate with two fingers.

"How does that feel?" He asked cheekily, and Percy moaned and thrust back against his hands automatically.

"But…but…"

Will's grin widened, momentarily tempted to tease Percy a while longer, but the poor guy had definitely suffered enough.

So, he squeezed some more lube onto his dick, stroking himself with one hand and working Percy's prostate with the other, before he took a deep breath and decided it was time to keep his word.

"Let's see if you still think I can't give you what you need after this, Percy." He remarked with a smug grin, and the moment Percy looked around at him with a partly confused, partly dazed look, Will pushed the tip of his dick against Percy's entrance, his fingers still pressing against his prostate.

It was an odd sensation, but not painful, neither to Percy or himself, which he was glad for – sure, the additional stretch stung a bit for Percy, but the sharp inhale that came in reply to his doings was one of surprise and pleasure, not pain.

Will was the next to let out a sharp hiss, the additional _tightness_ making him lightheaded, though he tried to focus solely on the task of pleasing Percy.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke or made much noise as they panted and reveled in the sensations rushing through them, both of them slightly overwhelmed.

Then, Will grabbed hold of Percy's hip and started thrusting, his fingers curling to hit Percy's sweet spot.

Percy nearly fell apart beneath him.

He shivered, he jumped, he gasped, he moaned, he cried out, he writhed and whimpered and howled, he thrust back against him and his hands were now clutching the head of the bed as if his life depended on it.

Will was both awed and immensely pleased about being the cause for Percy's disarray.

He hated pain of any kind, and this was nothing he would ever be okay with if their roles had been reversed, but he could _give_ just fine.

In fact, he really loved being in control like this, and Percy clearly liked him in control.

"F-Faster?" Percy tried hopefully between gasps and little, strangled sounds of pleasure, and Will's lips twitched.

"Think you can take that, Percy?" He asked with a harsh thrust, and Percy let out another drawn-out moan, his hips trying to meet every thrust while his body jolted every time Will curled his fingers.

"Yes?"

It sounded more like a question than an answer, but Will didn't mind, instead set on giving Percy anything he wished for.

Nico and Jason were the ones set on teasing and making Percy beg for it, Will had no interest in that, at least not right now.

So, he sped up, feeling the sweat drip down from his face onto Percy's back, though neither of them cared as he thrust into him harder, faster, deeper, his hand tingling as it threatened to go numb on him, though he merely twisted his arm a bit more and made it work somehow.

"Touch yourself if you want to, Percy." He panted and Percy let out another drawn-out groan as one hand disappeared beneath him, and Will shivered when he felt Percy tightening around him due to the sensation of stroking his dick at a rushed and not quite synced pace.

Percy started chanting his name again, his voice raspy and breathless and amazing, and Will doubled his efforts as he felt him nearing the edge again, this time intent to let him have his well-deserved climax.

He ended up pushing him over the edge by pressing his thumb into his sensitive spot on his lower back and curling his fingers inside him at the same time, and Percy's drawn-out mewl had to be the most beautiful sound in the world as he trembled and came.

Will groaned at the way he clenched around him, his own orgasm nowhere on his mind until it suddenly smacked him in the face and he felt his dick twitching inside Percy, his hand trembling almost as badly as Percy was.

They both remained as they were for a long moment, Percy all spread out and bent at odd angles and with one hand still at the head of the bed, while Will was kneeling behind him with his head tipped back and his hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, pleasure and bliss rippling through his body both from his own and Percy's orgasm.

Damn, that had been _good_.

"That was amazing. Best way to start the morning. Gotta repeat that." He panted, and there was a small huff next to them from Nico, as both he and Jason peeked at them with ill-concealed smirks on their faces.

Will stuck his tongue out at them and pulled both his hand and dick out, feeling immensely satisfied and content, and not even his own come sticking to his fingers could take that away.

"Hell yes." Percy breathed with a broad, satisfied smile on his face, and Will grinned back at him as he searched for their tissue box, though that seemed nowhere to be found.

"I'm gonna wash my hands. Scratch that, I'm taking a shower. Care to join me, love?" He asked, though he more felt like dropping back onto Percy like a log and go back to sleep for an hour or two, especially after all that exercise.

Percy seemed about to reply, then halted, tilting his head at the sight of Will's hand.

Then, his own hand disappeared behind him, his face suddenly turning scarlet.

"You…you _came inside me_?" He asked, his voice full of disbelief, though Will couldn't see why.

"You told me you want to try it back when I bottomed. Plus, you yelled at me quite a few times when I was looking for the lube that you don't give a damn about condom and lube and just 'want to feel me', and that I should forget lube and condom and just 'do you'. Not good?" He asked as he got up and looked at Percy in question, though his boyfriend was too busy blushing a deeper shade of red, while Jason and Nico snickered.

"No! No, it's…it's great. I just…wasn't expecting…Nico and Jason never actually…I didn't think _you_ would…"

Will raised an eyebrow at Percy, then wiped his hand on his old boxer shorts as he slipped back into them, though he knew he wouldn't wear them for very long.

He just didn't like standing around naked in front of much better built boyfriends.

"You also didn't think I could fuck you quite as well as Jason, yet here we are." He deadpanned, and Percy let out a small, complainant squeak while Jason made an almost affronted sound, though he also winked at Will a moment later and turned his back to them to grab hold of Nico before he could escape, tugging him closer to go back to sleep.

Nico grumbled and flailed, then sighed and resigned himself to his fate with a last smirk and a thumbs-up in their direction, as well as some incoherent, mumbled mess Will couldn't quite decipher.

Too sleep-deprived to talk, how adorable.

"I never said that. Still…thank you." Percy mumbled sheepishly as he got up as well, looking between flustered and pleased, and Will smirked at him and gave him a small peck on the lips that turned into three more.

"Always eager to please you, babe. How are you liking it?" He asked amused, knowing _he_ absolutely didn't like the feeling, but that might also have different reasons.

"It's _weird_." Percy immediately commented, his hand disappearing behind him again, and Will had to control himself to neither laugh nor look.

"Oh yeah?"

Percy nodded, but didn't look all that bothered.

"But an interesting weird." He elaborated as he nudged Will to get going, apparently not wanting to be the one going first right now, which only made Will want to grin even more.

But he contained himself.

"You think so?" Will asked innocently instead as he made his way to the bathroom with Percy following.

"Yeah. I think I wouldn't mind doing that again, to be honest. Maybe."

Now Will _was_ grinning, but only because Percy couldn't see.

No condoms? Well, sure, that could be arranged – it would certainly save them a lot of condoms too, to be honest.

They were exclusive, and Will would be able to tell instantly if there were any STDs or worse, so they _could_ stop using them if they wanted to.

"Sure, just let us know if you do want to use them again." He replied with a small shrug and Percy made an affirmative sound before making his way over to the shower immediately, granting Will a perfect view of his backside and that hand.

Some people would be put off by the sight, others would think of it as a turn-on.

Will more felt like laughing in delight at the adorable, yet useless way Percy tried to go about dealing with the situation.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" He asked with ill-concealed mirth, then ended up being too slow to hide his grin as Percy turned his head to glower at him, his ears now crimson red.

" _Shush_. This is the first time I'm…this…that…you…oh, whatever. Do it better, then." Percy shot back, clearly flustered, and Will was behind him in an instant, his hand joining Percy's in a heartbeat, his lips at Percy's shoulder.

"Oh? You want me to help?" He purred sweetly, and Percy immediately stilled, then let out a small gasp when he felt Will's fingers.

Will could feel a renewed spark of lust, as well as the telltale twitch of Percy's dick jumping back to life.

"If you make the shower water warm, I might _just_ make this morning even better for you, love." Will added with a purr and had Percy shivering and his hand shooting out immediately to change the temperature, even if the water wasn't even running yet.

"Anything for you." Percy breathed weakly, but all Will could do was smirk against his skin as he pushed Percy into the shower and tugged his clothes off once more.

If he had known _this_ was how to get his boyfriend to give him warm water and decent showers, he'd have done this ages ago.

"Aren't you just so lucky it's morning?"

"Definitely. Best time of the day." Percy hastily agreed, and Will's smirk widened as he first kissed Percy's shoulder, then bit his skin as his boyfriend started the water.

His hand started moving, drawing a soft moan out of Percy that made Will shiver and his own dick twitch.

Gods, he _loved_ mornings.

...

"Okay, remember: Deep breaths, stay focused, don't rush anything. We have this place for two hours, but that doesn't mean you have to excel at everything today, Nico." Will told him sternly as they entered the arena, though Nico still felt queasy.

This was a bad idea.

The last time they had done this, he had made a fool of himself and ended up with a panic attack in Will's arms and not-kisses that he had wanted to be real-kisses.

Sure, now Will probably _would_ give him actual kisses, but Nico would much prefer those to be out of relief and triumph than anything panic-related.

"You mean, I shouldn't feel bad about myself if I still can't conjure up a bone after two hours." He retorted with a small, disdainful huff, and instantly received an unimpressed sideways glance from Will.

Then, his expression changed to a cheeky grin and his eyebrows wiggled, and Nico pushed him away before he could even say anything.

"Don't even go there, Will. I'm talking about dead bones, not your dick."

"Hey! I didn't even say anything!" Will exclaimed with a laugh, though the gleam in his eyes said Nico had guessed correctly.

"Plus, I'm a doctor, I would _never_ say there was a bone in my dick. Everybody knows-…" Nico interrupted him by putting his finger on Will's lips.

"Don't. We came here for business, not so you can charm me with your extensive knowledge of the human anatomy."

"You think my extensive knowledge of the human anatomy is charming? Wow, I had no idea you're into that. I know a lot more than that, if you're interested!" Will called after him as Nico moved away, and he promptly slapped his hand to his forehead.

" _Will_!" He drawled out in exasperation and shot his boyfriend a sulky look, but he just smirked back at him with a cheeky grin and his eyes gleaming.

Nico knew he was just trying to put him at ease, but he had no idea how difficult it was to concentrate on the dead when he was distracted by this bundle of sunshine.

Why had he even agreed to this, though?

He could have spent this time cuddling with Will in their cabin, or maybe watch a movie with him, or take him out on a date (one that Nico organized, this time).

Instead, they had somehow breached the topic of Nico's powers, and then Will had offered to help him, and Nico had…well, ended up agreeing with a shrug, because the offer had momentarily overwhelmed him.

Now, it seemed like a horrible idea though.

Maybe it would be better to wait.

Then again, who knew how much time they had before they would have to leave with Jason?

But what if he failed? What if he panicked? What if he faded?

"I'll be with you, Nico. Nothing is going to happen. Just watch your breathing, stay focused, and give it a try." Will assured him softly, suddenly right behind him again and all traces of joking gone as he placed his hands on Nico's shoulders and started kneading his muscles gently.

Nico sighed deeply and moved his hand over his face, leaning back into the touch faintly.

"I know…it's just…I don't know."

"It's okay." Will said softly, and Nico gave a small nod, trying to get his bearings together once more before he stepped away from Will again.

Will let him go, watching him moving about the arena restlessly as he tried to figure out how to best go about this.

He settled for an especially shadowy spot, even if they had agreed on trying to summon one skeleton for starters, no shadow portals.

Who knew, maybe it would help.

Or it would make things worse.

Nico scrunched up his face and refused to ponder the matter any further.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, stretching out his arms in front of him with his palms down, trying to feel for the dead.

There were plenty enough all around Camp, it was truly disconcerting, though he tried not to dwell on that too much, either.

Nico frowned and tried to feel for the telltale surge of energy, but it didn't come.

He reached out further and scrunched up his face more, but his increased tension didn't do anything except make him even more annoyed.

Letting out a frustrated huff, he opened his eyes again and kicked at invisible dirt.

"Do we _have_ to do this right now?" He sulked, unwilling to look in Will's direction to spare himself the pity that would undoubtedly follow.

"We do. Who knows when Jason will have us leave? I much rather have you practice here than practice with you while we're on the move. And I _definitely_ want to be the one you practice with." Will said with a shrug as he smoothly reentered Nico's field of vision, his expression more along the lines of unimpressed than pitying, which nagged at Nico's pride.

"Of course you're the one I'll do this with. Who else?" Nico asked in bewilderment, but Will didn't reply and merely nodded towards him to try again, so Nico huffed and complied.

When, once more, nothing happened, Nico started grumbling even louder.

"Maybe I won't _need_ my powers. I can use my sword just fine. We can just practice when we get back." He insisted, but Will was unmoved by his hidden pleas and instead urged him to try again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Nico was tempted to throw a dummy at him, but resisted the temptation solely because it would require too much effort – which he yelled at Will after forty-five minutes of _excessive timewasting_.

His boyfriend remained unmoved by his bad mood, as well as his yelling as Nico started cursing in Italian and rambling about how this was _not_ how he wanted his day to go, that Will was insensitive and stupid, and that Nico would have never made him do the same if their roles had been switched.

All in all, he was going all out on letting out his frustration and anger on Will, even though he knew perfectly well Will was not at fault.

He was.

And Will knew it, too.

"Now, take all that anger and frustration and conjure up a skeleton, Nico."

" _Fottiti_!" Nico snapped back and threw his hands up, but Will merely raised an eyebrow at him.

Did he just yell 'Fuck you' at Will in Italian? Yes, yes he had. And he didn't regret it one bit, nope.

"Impressive. How about you conjure up a bone for me to do the deed with." Will deadpanned, and this time, Nico _did_ grab the nearest dummy and threw it at his boyfriend, though it didn't even make it halfway, and Will didn't have the decency to either move or even look surprised.

Needless to say, Nico's next reaction was to stomp off into the darkest corner he could find and crouch down to sulk, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as his rage turned into self-pity and misery.

"I can't do it." He whispered, his voice broken and weak just like he was.

"Of course you can. You just gotta actually _try_ , Nico. You can't use power while refusing to use that power." Will said softly, and Nico partly wanted to lash out at him again, partly wanted to apologize and curl up in his lap and convince him to do this some other day.

He didn't do either, instead continuing his sulking.

"I _did_ try."

"No, you didn't, and you know it." Will replied, and Nico hated that he knew he was right.

But he still remembered the last time, how it had felt, how the darkness had immediately tried to seize hold of him, how it had all become too much too fast…

"I'll be there, Nico. Everything will be fine." Will reassured him again, but Nico wasn't convinced.

"Just try for real once, okay? If you _really_ give it a try and it won't work, we can try again a different day. Deal?" Will tried, and Nico huffed to himself, not at all feeling up to agreeing.

Then again, once Will saw he really couldn't do it, he could finally get out of here.

Sure, he would have to deal with the fact Will would undoubtedly be disappointed and they would have to tell the others Nico was unable to use his powers anymore for good, but…well, right now, Nico much rather felt willing to deal with that than _this_.

"Fine." He grumbled and pushed himself up again, though he refused to look around at Will, who had come closer, but not close enough to make throwing another dummy at him worth it.

Nico took a deep breath and closed his eyes once more, trying to feel for his powers, his arms reaching out once more.

He found it disturbingly and shockingly easily, though he also immediately recoiled from it, trying to ban it from his body as if it was a curse.

"Nico, that power is a part of you. Just like Percy's power is a part of him. He's scared of it sometimes, too, but he knows he will use it for good, not bad. Power is just power, after all, and it's what you use it for that gives it its nature. You know that, right?" Will asked patiently, and Nico clenched his jaw as he reluctantly poked at the darkness again.

"You control it." Will reminded him, and Nico started grinding his teeth, though he knew he could trust Will and his judgment.

If Will said he could do it, that meant he should be capable of doing it.

Redirecting his attention from himself to the ground, he called upon his powers to conjure up a stupid skeleton.

It still came as a shock to him when he indeed felt said power rushing through him, the sensation both familiar and alien to him at the same time, and he felt himself stumbling backwards slightly as the ground split open in front of him somewhere.

He tripped over something, though maybe it was just his own feet, and the next moment, he let out a squeak and crashed into the ground, the link to his power cutting off immediately.

"You're a freaking _cazzo_ , Will! You can clearly see I can't do it and you _still_ force me to do this…this… _stronzate_!" He exclaimed indignantly as he rubbed at his face, then the back of his head that he had hit, but when he opened his eyes, the first thing he did was scream as he came face to face with a skeleton that was inappropriately close, while his boyfriend was only coming over ever so slowly with a smug look on his face.

"Yes, I'm a dick. Yes, this is bullshit. But hey, I'd say you managed perfectly fine, didn't you?"

Nico grumbled, then frowned and wondered just where Will had even learned Italian to actually understand what he was saying almost all the time, especially when it came to swearwords.

"I hit my head." He sulked, though he wondered why he would willingly take this blow to his pride and whine around like this.

The skeleton was still inappropriately close.

"I saw. You tripped over your own two feet. I was going to catch you, but this skeleton seemed intent on coming to your aid before me, and I didn't want to get in the way, sorry." Will remarked with a hint of amusement in his voice, and Nico made a shooing motion at the skeleton, which only reluctantly obeyed and straightened up again to give him space.

"So, what now?" He asked as Will helped him up and they both stared at the skeleton, which was now looking around with its empty eye sockets and apparently contemplated why it was here.

Nico had…actually conjured up a skeleton.

By himself.

And he was still alive.

Nico glanced down at his hands, just to make sure he was still completely corporeal.

"That depends. You now know you can still control your powers if you really want to, which is more than what you knew before. Now it's up to you what you make of it. You can try again, you can practice, or you can procrastinate and try some other day and start from zero again, because fear will get the better of you once more the more time you let pass." Will said with a shrug, though his words showed his opinion on the matter just fine.

Nico scowled at him, then huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest, his eyes falling on the crack in the ground where the skeleton had come through.

"I guess I'll try again." He conceded at last, knowing Will was right.

Plus, after all his yelling and cursing at Will, he should probably make up for it by showing him he was more than a whiny, badmouthed bag of beans.

"That's the spirit. Well, skeleton. Eh, whatever."

Nico threw his boyfriend an unimpressed look, then huffed as he felt his lips twitching ever so faintly.

"Oh, shut up."

"You know you love me talking." Will retorted with a small wink, and Nico was tempted to bury his face in his hands, though the fact the skeleton did just that made him laugh instead.

Especially when Will turned to shoot the skeleton a clearly affronted look, and the skeleton pointedly turned its skull away from him with a little but clearly visible shake.

Wow, he had conjured up one _good_ skeleton.

Maybe they should keep it.

Will shot him a pointed look.

"Don't even think about it, di Angelo."

Mean.

"Get back to practice, Ghost King." Will said and motioned impatiently with his hands, while also clearly trying to ignore the skeleton as blatantly as possible, and Nico snickered to himself as he felt a lot more positive about all of this.

Maybe, just maybe, he actually _would_ be able to use his powers again properly, with enough practice.

Obediently, he closed his eyes and tried to focus once more.

He could do this.

...

Nico hummed contently next to him, and Jason glanced sideways at his boyfriend, who was reading his book on Italian architecture he had gotten from Annabeth for his birthday, a pleased smile playing on his lips that Jason knew came from training, not the book.

Apparently, the practice really had gone well.

Jason was more than glad for it.

After the last time, he knew Nico had been more than reluctant to try again, so he was glad he had given it a try in the first place, especially since it had more than paid off in the end.

Nico had seemed so euphoric and pleased with himself when he had walked into Jason near the dining pavilion, telling him instantly how he had managed to summon quite a few skeletons and even opened a shadow portal for a few minutes, though he hadn't attempted traveling yet by Will's request (which Jason was also grateful for).

He had seemed so cheerful.

Jason watched him a moment longer, then glanced towards Will and Percy, who were sitting next to each other, with Will on the laptop and Percy sorting through a pile of loose photos, probably trying to make up his mind which should go into which photo album (they had way too many, but Jason would lie if he claimed he didn't love it).

It was so nice and calm and peaceful right now.

He caught Will glancing sideways at Percy with a shit-eating grin, and just knew the peace and quiet wouldn't last much longer, though he didn't mind.

Instead, he returned his attention to the photo album he was currently looking through – Nico's third.

Out of the four of them, Jason was the only one who dated his albums and photos and wrote little notes next to and beneath them about where they had been or why that photo had been taken, but Nico was the only one who had really 'sorted' his pictures, and Jason enjoyed looking through his albums the most.

He must have seen the pictures a hundred times already, especially because they had all printed out the same ones in the beginning for their respective, separate albums, but somehow, seeing them in a different order or in Nico's particular order always brought out things he hadn't noticed before, and it felt nice reminiscing about those times and realizing how stupid they had been.

It should have probably been sad and made him shake his head at himself and them, but instead, such thoughts usually made him laugh now.

They had been stupid and oblivious, yes, but in the end, it might have been better that way.

Sure, they could have avoided plenty of pining and pain and made things a lot easier on all parties involved, but when did they ever make anything easy for themselves?

It was so typical for them, he still wondered how they had ever managed to get together in the first place.

Somehow, he had a hunch that if it hadn't been for the Apollo cabin (and Percy declaring them official before they actually had been), they'd have probably managed to dance around each other at least a few months more.

Though he was more than glad to be past the suffering and heartache.

This was _much_ better.

Jason turned a page and blinked when a note slid out, picking it up curiously and trying to decipher Nico's messiest handwriting yet.

Before he could manage though, Nico suddenly snatched it out of his hands with a small sound, his book discarded on the bed as he leaned backwards to grab his newest album and a pen.

"Thanks, I've been looking for that forever. I _knew_ I put it in one of the albums." Nico mumbled ever so quietly, and Jason blinked at him in question, while Will and Percy only looked up for a moment before returning their attention to whatever they were doing, clearly not half as intrigued as Jason was.

"What's that?" He asked curiously, shifting closer to move his chin onto Nico's shoulder and peek at the pages he currently had open.

Nico stiffened momentarily and glanced towards Will and/or Percy – and Jason was about to pull away and reassure him he wouldn't pry if he didn't want him to, but then Nico was already turning towards him slightly, his bottom lip between his teeth and an unusually intense gleam in his eyes.

Jason half expected an explanation, but instead, Nico held up his photo album to let him see, while also keeping Percy and Will from seeing, should they look over.

Now _definitely_ intrigued, Jason took the album from him to read the much cleaner and elegant writing that filled several pages, all short verses that didn't immediately make sense to Jason.

For a long moment, he wondered since when Nico was into poetry.

Then, he realized by chance they were haikus.

Then, he realized with a jolt he had heard a certain somebody say a few of these lines in his very presence.

And suddenly, he was looking up at Nico with a look of disbelief.

"Seriously?" He asked quietly, and Nico's lips split into a broad grin as he nodded, his eyes _gleaming_ with mirth and glee as he shifted closer and started pointing at various haikus.

"This one was the first I noticed. That one's still my favorite. And this is the one from this morning." He whispered, all giddy excitement and joy, and Jason grinned to himself as he read them over again, both of them snickering quietly and peeking at Will, who remained unaware of the sudden attention as he had his eyes trained on the laptop screen.

Percy watched them with a small frown, but didn't seem to think too much of it as he instead leaned over to peek at whatever Will was doing – just to let out a small squeak and nudge Will harshly, who immediately grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at a quickly blushing Percy.

Jason didn't even _want_ to know what they were doing.

Instead, he returned to their haikus.

"So, he says them _every time_?" He asked quietly, stunned he hadn't noticed that, himself.

Nico gave a small shrug, looking fondly down at the haikus.

"I wouldn't know about _every_ time, but certainly every time I'm around."

It had to be an Apollo thing. Definitely.

"Does he know?" Jason asked barely audibly to not tip Will off, but Will was too busy trying to keep the laptop out of Percy's reach.

"Actually, I don't think so." Nico whispered back, his eyes now on Will and Percy as they still fought over the laptop, though the glimpse of the screen only revealed what appeared to be a music player, so Jason wasn't quite sure what the fuss was about.

He and Nico shared a small look, then they both put their heads together to study the haikus again, commenting on some and gushing about others, and the more Jason thought about it, the more he could remember Will actually _saying_ these, yet he had never paid much mind to it before.

How adorable was that, though?

"This one's my favorite." He decided on a whim, pointing at one he hadn't actually heard from Will himself, but it sounded sweet.

 _'The stars in your eyes – You are the reason I smile – Your laugh is my world.'_

"I bet it is." Nico commented with a small snort of laughter, and Jason huffed indignantly.

"I'll have you know this is _exactly_ what I want engraved on my gravestone."

"You won't even have a gravestone, Jason."

Damn it.

Jason made to pout, but then his eyes caught on another haiku and he chuckled, instead.

"Does that even count as haiku?" He asked doubtfully, clearly remembering hearing _that_.

 _'Oh gods, you guys feel – Absolutely amazing – Enjoyed it so much.'_

Nico shrugged with an expression that said 'Fight me'.

"The syllables match, who cares about the rest? I'll have you know this is one of _my_ favorites." Nico retorted, and Jason's grin widened.

"Mhm."

"Don't look at me like that."

Jason hummed again, then wiggled his eyebrows, and Nico pushed him away with a small laugh and a fake wail.

"What _are_ you two doing?" Will asked with a hint of bewilderment in his expression, and Jason and Nico immediately snapped the album shut and put it down behind them, far out of Will's reach.

"Nothing." They replied immediately with their most innocent expressions, then shot each other cheeky grins when Will rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the laptop, slapping Percy's hand away where it tried to gain control over the mouse.

"Right. Well, don't let us disturb you in your gushing."

If only he knew who and what they were gushing about.

Which reminded Jason two certain somebodies had escaped his smooching ritual today.

Percy by clinging to Will or lounging just out of Jason's reach, and Nico by rambling so animatedly about his training that Jason hadn't had the heart to interrupt him, and then fallen into peaceful silence alongside him.

Now that he remembered, though…

Jason inched closer to Nico again, smiling innocently at him as Nico seemed to practically _sense_ the shift in mood, glancing around at him suspiciously with narrowed eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just realized there's something very important I have to tell you." Jason replied, his voice turning into a soft whisper that made Nico narrow his eyes even more, though he didn't rush to escape yet.

"And what's that?" He asked skeptically, but Jason shook his head and beckoned him closer, as if to share a secret.

Will let out a small snort, but luckily didn't sell him out, because Jason was absolutely certain he knew what Jason was about to do.

He waited until Nico was close enough and he had his lips at his ears, his arms wrapping around Nico as inconspicuously as possible.

Then…

"Nobody escapes the smooching." He declared seriously, and while Will whooped and laughed and Percy let out a small cackle, Nico took a second too long to catch on, which gave Jason plenty of time to swoop him up and throw him sideways into the sheets, showering him in kisses as his boyfriend before his boyfriend even managed to start wailing and sputtering and giggling.

"Noooo!" Nico exclaimed, though his struggles were less than half-assed, and Jason heard Will and Percy laugh even louder.

" _Yes_! Mine, mine, mine, all mine." He replied as he smooched his boyfriend, and Nico wailed again, before beginning to fight back by tickling his sides, which was _cheating_!

"Not fair!" He complained as he started chuckling and had to pull away from Nico for a moment to catch his breath and get away from those traitorous hands, but Nico immediately advanced on him.

"Everything is fair in love and war, Jason!" His boyfriend retorted, using Jason's own argument against him – then it was Jason who was pushed into the sheets, and Nico who started alternating between kissing and smooching and tickling him.

But…if Jason was being honest, he didn't mind that one bit, either.

He also didn't mind it one bit when Percy and Will sneaked closer after a while to join in.

Though he still made sure to complain enough – mostly to make them keep going, but they all already knew that.

Now _this_ was a good day.

.

When Jason left for the bathroom, his boyfriends had been scattered throughout the room, Nico at the desk, Percy with the DVDs, Will with the laptop, everything peaceful and quiet and nice.

When Jason _came back_ from the bathroom after what couldn't have been more than _five minutes_ , the first thing that confused him was the _noise_ , because suddenly, there was music playing, and Will was talking loudly, while Percy was laughing and rubbing his hands together excitedly, seated on a chair they had pulled to the middle of the room, for inexplicable reasons.

The next thing that confused him, was the fact Will had his hands on his hips and was rolling said hips rather tantalizingly, his back to Jason, while Nico stood next to him and nodded with a look of utmost concentration on his face, his hands on his own hips as he tried to mimic Will's movements.

What confused him the most, though, were Will's words.

"It's not as much how you move but _how_ you move. Do it slowly, draw everything out. You're not trying to rush through it, but to give a show. Present yourself, and even if you don't feel sexy, just give the impression you're the sexiest thing alive, and you will be. Trust me on that."

What.

 _What_.

Jason stood there and stared, at a loss for words as his mind tried to catch up with what the hell had happened in the _five minutes_ he had been gone.

"Jason! Jason, get over here. Will is teaching Nico how to lap dance. This is my lucky day." Percy called over brightly, looking like a child on Christmas Eve.

"The only reason I tolerate you in that chair right now is because I'll first show Nico the basic moves, so we won't need it yet. Once he's practicing, it will be on a different, _empty_ chair, you dork." Will retorted without looking away from Nico, and Percy looked crestfallen for a total of three seconds, before his face brightened again.

"But you'll need to show him how to do it with a partner, right? I'm volunteering!"

"Wait, you're really teaching him?" Jason asked, and he was amazed how weak his voice was, a perfect mirror to his inner state right about now.

Will couldn't teach Nico _that_!

Percy shot him a sympathetic look, while Will met his gaze with an amused, knowing one of his own, his lips already quirking into a small smile.

Nico, however, turned his head and gave him his most challenging look he had ever directed towards Jason, and that alone already made him weak in the knees.

"You know what, just for that, you'll be my first victim." Nico announced, and Jason swallowed thickly, a tremble going through his body as his mind went to places it definitely shouldn't go right now.

Maybe it would be better to sit down.

Or maybe not, given the circumstances.

"That's the spirit. Now, back to business. As I was saying, the most important thing…" Will continued his explaining as if they hadn't been interrupted at all, and Jason moved his hand over his face in a gesture of defeat.

Will was seriously teaching Nico how to lap dance.

Jason already had his troubles resisting them under normal circumstances, and now Will was teaching Nico the perfect weapon to turn a weak man into a dead man.

Jason was absolutely done for.

He wasn't even sure why he had been so affected by the way Will had moved during that Dare – it had confused him, afterwards, by how strongly he had reacted to it.

Rationally speaking, it was the same as any dance, and Will hadn't even done anything too insinuating, either; yet Jason hadn't been able to take his eyes off him, and his body had reacted without sense or reason.

If Will did that again for him, privately, Jason would probably end up making a mess of himself before the first song was over.

If Will taught Nico and Nico with his much fiercer and more pushing and experimental nature tried the same, Jason would embarrass himself even before the song really started.

Jason could see it all before his mind's eye, and the groan that fell from his lips was an automatic one he couldn't have stopped even if he had wanted to.

It took him a moment to realize it hadn't been a groan of misery or exasperation.

"Jason? Where are you going, man?" Percy called after him in confusion, but Jason merely shook his head, rubbed over his face again, and retreated into the bathroom to slam the door shut and contemplated taking a nice and long shower.

Unfortunately, he was immediately hit with the realization Will had started teaching Nico about lap dancing after Jason had been gone for _five minutes_ , which was immediately followed by the question of just _what_ their boyfriend would end up teaching him if Jason left them for even longer now.

He was out of the bathroom faster than he would have expected his legs to take him, and while Percy seemed initially surprised, Will and Nico didn't seem the slightest bit fazed, glancing around at him for a moment before returning to their lesson.

"What was that about? Don't tell me the mighty Jason Grace has a mighty weakness for lap dances." Percy asked him teasingly as he leaned back in his chair and tipped his head back to glance up at Jason, who had somehow ended up behind him, his hands clutching the back rest of the chair for support.

"Yes. As a matter of fact, Jason Grace _does_ have a mighty weakness for lap dances, it seems." He replied grumpily, and the startled way Percy jumped and stared at him in surprise was priceless.

Will had that knowing look on his face again, his lips quirking up as he wiggled his eyebrows at him and blew him a kiss, while Nico did some stretching exercises next to him, looking determined and ready, a fire in his eyes that seemed directed especially towards Jason.

"You're going down, Jason." Nico repeated, and Jason had no doubt he was right.

"You'll blow his mind." Will agreed, and Jason had no doubt about that, either.

"Don't forget me. I want a lap dance, too. Please? Pretty please? Come on, _you love me_!" Percy whined, and Will's hand reached out to stroke through his hair, his eyes narrowing for the faintest moment as he tugged on a strand of it, as if taking note of how much it had grown.

"We'd never forget you, Gorgeous. You know we're only teasing. Jason's reaction is simply too tempting not to, I'm sorry, love. Of course, I'll dance for you later. Nico will have to see how it's done properly, after all, doesn't he?" Will whispered, his gaze shifting from Percy's hair to his eyes, and Percy seemed perfectly happy with that, beaming up at him with so much affection, Jason had his hand on his shoulder in an instant to get some of that attention, too.

Will withdrew with a small chuckle and instructed Nico to mimic him again, and Percy turned to shoot Jason an amused look, before gesturing him closer with a finger.

Jason obediently leaned down – and looked right through Percy's plan, so he swiftly moved forward and pressed his lips against Percy's cheek.

" _Twenty_. I won."

It was something silly they had started this morning at breakfast, with Percy still high from his climax and more open with his affection towards him, giving him a loud peck on his cheek the one moment Jason hadn't expected it, just to say he won for getting the first surprise-peck of the day with him.

By lunchtime, they had turned it into a silly game of who could surprise the other with more pecks than the other, with twenty being 'the mark'.

It was Jason's new favorite game, even if Nico and Will refused to partake in it.

Percy looked at him with an incredulous look that proved his victory, then he grabbed the front of Jason's shirt and pulled him back down harshly to attack his face with kisses, which had Jason chortling and squeezing his eyes shut in amusement, glasses sliding dangerously low on his nose, though Percy was an expert in pushing them back up automatically by now.

"Not gonna work, Percy. You know I won. Or is this my prize for winning?" He teased, though he absolutely wouldn't mind if it was.

" _Nooo_! I win! You cheated! Somehow! You're going down, Sparky! Twenty sucks as a count, anyways. Let's make it fifty. Fifty is a great number. Or 69. You know you loved it." Percy insisted, and Jason felt the warmth seeping up from his neck into his face at the memory of the two of them fooling around with each other playfully that one time, while Nico and Will had taken their shower together.

It had been different and not even half as easy as they had originally thought, but he was glad they had done it, all the same, especially because Percy had ended up weak and pliant on top of him in a state of submission, sucking Jason and moaning around his dick with his entire body trembling from the strain of not thrusting his hips down to push into Jason's mouth or back into his fingers pleasuring him.

"Any number you want, darling. I'll still end up winning." Jason replied with a small smile, giving Percy's fingers a kiss when he tried to put them to Jason's mouth to shut him up.

Percy, who had been about to speak, lost his train of thoughts at the gesture and blinked at Jason, giving himself away once more.

Jason's smile turned into a grin.

"Twenty-one."

"You _cheater_!" Percy cried, then Will clicked his tongue and they both looked around to find Nico with his back to them and his hands on the backrest of the chair at his desk, clearly practicing the moves Will had shown him, and most definitely working on doing them as slowly as possible.

"He's a quick learner, isn't he?" Will asked, though his pleased voice showed he already knew the answer to that, himself.

He sure was.

Percy and Jason exchanged telling glances, both of them swallowing simultaneously.

Then Percy rushed to move, and Jason did him the favor of at least acting surprised this one time.

"Eighteen. _Ha_!"

Jason rolled his eyes, but let him bask in his small victory for now.

The longer this game continued, the more kisses he got out of it, after all.

Jason could never quite resist those.

Same as he couldn't seem capable of resisting lap dances, because his body was already reacting to the way Nico _attempted_ to move to the music.

Will's expression told him he knew.

Percy's wink and the way he shifted on the chair to make space to share it with Jason showed he knew it, too.

Jason was a weak man, but at least he had found himself the right boyfriends.

"We're gonna spoil you so good, Jason."

Yep, definitely the right boyfriends.

Jason was going to go down, and he'd love every moment of it.

...

"Percy! Somebody is calling your IM-device!" Will called from the other room, and Percy glanced sideways at Jason, who was brushing his teeth next to him.

"Not me." His boyfriend said around his toothbrush, and Percy nudged his shoulder with a snort as he spit out the toothpaste.

Smart-ass.

Pretty big words for somebody who had blown within five minutes of Nico on his lap – though none of them had said anything about that, of course.

After Percy's faux-pas in the bathroom with Nico, he knew first-hand how mortified Jason must have felt at that moment, so teasing him had been the last thing on his mind, and he wouldn't step that low now.

"Can you answer it for me, Will? Be there in a moment." He called back and squeaked when Jason pinched his side, before the two of them batted at each other playfully as he rinsed out his mouth and washed his face.

"Percy!" Will called again, more insistently this time, and Percy grumbled and gave his boyfriend a surprise kiss on the cheek before rushing out of the bathroom.

Ha! _Sixty_!

(Though it could also be 55. He had lost count quite a few times, after all…)

"Yes, yes, I'm here. Who is it? It's 9pm at night who in their right mind-…oh, hi mom." He cut himself off quickly once he caught sight of the screen – and his mother.

"Is this a bad time?" His mom asked with a raised eyebrow, but Percy merely let out a relieved sigh at the fact he was still completely dressed, shaking his head in reply as he hurried over to Will and Nico to sit down next to them on their bed.

Nico looked so adorably flustered, Percy wondered whether his mom had said anything weird (and most likely embarrassing for him) or whether it was just the call itself.

Since Will's cheeks were flushed as well, he had a hunch it was the former, since Will certainly wasn't shy around mom.

"I just thought I'd call once it goes dark, to prevent being that embarrassing mom that calls you in the middle of training or dinner or whatever else you might be up to." His mother explained as she gave him a pointed look.

"Since a certain somebody never calls." She added, and he made a face, while Nico threw him his best ' _I told you so'_ -look.

Yeah, yeah.

"I'm sorry. I did want to call, but I guess it must have slipped my mind." He apologized with a pout, but his mom waved off with a small smile.

"It's alright. As long as the four of you are alive and well. How is training going? And where is Jason?" She asked curiously, trying to look around in their room though she of course only saw the interior of her kitchen, which had Percy smiling to himself, remembering all the times he had tried to do the same.

"He's brushing his teeth for an hour like the good boy he is."

"I heard that." Jason called from the bathroom, while Will and Nico gave each other pointed looks.

"Well, I hope he'll rub off on you a bit, then. You better take care of your teeth properly as well, Perseus."

"Yeah, better take care of your teeth properly, Percy." Will remarked next to him with a teasing grin, and Percy stuck his tongue out at him, before blinking innocently back at his mom.

"Same goes for you, Will." His mother said sternly, and Will's eyebrows shot up, while Nico let out a small chuckle.

"I'm a _doctor_ , of course I take care of myself properly!" Will exclaimed indignantly, and Percy and Nico let out matching snorts.

"Yeah, right." They both retorted, and Percy thought of the way Will sometimes ate even less than Nico did – not to mention his working hours.

That didn't seem very healthy.

"Will, you're no doctor _yet_ , and even if you were, it would not make me hesitate in coming over there and driving you to an _actual_ doctor if I have to. I know you're taking good care of my boys, but do watch out for yourself as well, alright?" His mom said with a look that didn't allow a no, and Will shifted next to him, his eyes flickering away from the screen.

"Of course I will. Am. I mean, I am doing that. You…there's no reason to worry or anything." He mumbled awkwardly, and Percy exchanged a telling look with Nico.

"Oh, I'll always worry. I _am_ a mother, after all. So, how _is_ training going? And the…infirmary, was it? Lots of work?" She asked, and Percy instantly rushed to complain about training, the kids and the tedious work – before backtracking and telling her how _great_ all that was, because he didn't like the way she furrowed her brow and looked more than a little concerned.

Will and Nico let him talk, exchanging telling looks every here and there and a few remarks at the side or explanations when Percy jumped between all his stories too quickly, but other wisely remaining silent..

Jason joined them on the bed, giving Percy his kiss on the cheek back, though Percy was only distracted for the three seconds it took him to rush around and give him a surprise-peck on the nose to keep his advantage, then he was back to his storytelling.

He told her of his various training groups and the progress they had made, as well as Nico's kids and how Will kept nagging him about eating his vegetables – which somehow made _all of them_ agree that was a good thing, even though Percy couldn't see _how_.

Then, he told her about Nico's groups, which had Will laughing, though Nico let him talk and merely added details every here and there if necessary.

His mom listened as she always did, and as he watched her watching them, he started feeling a little homesick again – though it was more that he missed _her_ , rather than a place.

He loved their cabin too much to go anywhere else, unless it was going to be _their_ place.

But he did miss his mom.

It felt like ages ago since he had last gotten to hug her, and while Iris messages were great because he got to actually _see_ her, they still never failed to make him crave the real thing even more.

Will moved an arm around him from the side, tugging him against him slightly, and Percy leaned his head on his shoulder, soaking up the comfort like a sponge.

Trust Will to know.

Jason took over the conversation as he told her about his meetings – not allowed to give out too many details, but explaining the basics nevertheless – before he started talking about the climbing wall and how he was currently trying to get Chiron to give Leo permission to do some basic work on it.

Percy couldn't follow all of it because of his own thoughts and sorrow, but apparently, Jason thought it was beginning to be a bit too run down for using it as much as the campers did, and he was worried there might soon be more accidents because of the wall itself than the boulders or traps.

Personally, Percy didn't care much, he rarely used the wall anymore since he had become an official 'camp teacher', so he couldn't tell whether there really was any danger – or whether Leo had simply told Jason whatever he needed to hear to get Chiron's okay so Leo could tinker to his heart's content.

But it didn't matter, Percy would share Jason's view on the matter and make sure that okay was given soon, especially because his boyfriend looked genuinely concerned as he spoke.

He was about to tell Jason as much, already turning towards him and opening his mouth – but then Jason already leaned down and pecked Percy on the nose _twice_ , which meant he was _definitely trying to one-up Percy right there_ , and he forgot everything he wanted to say as he let out an indignant noise of complaint and chased after Jason's face to peck him back.

Which, as it turned out, was easier said than done, because that cruel dork was extra cruel and started fleeing with a small laugh, while his mom called his name in confusion.

Percy _wanted_ to reply, but then he was faced with the very tough decision of whether to go after his boyfriend or stop and explain this very serious matter to his mother – and since Jason made the mistake of letting himself fall sideways onto the bed instead of fleeing from it, it was obvious he went in for the kill.

"My son is mature as always, I see." He heard his mom saying behind him as he threw himself on top of Jason with a war cry, making him groan and bury his face in his arms to 'escape' him, but Percy was perfectly fine with the challenge of getting Jason to submit to him.

"Nah, they're just having a sort of challenge who can surprise the other with the most kisses. It was fairly even until now, but Jason just went in for the kill with that, so Percy feels the need to defend his honor." Will explained nonchalantly, spot on as usual, and Percy wanted to shoot him a dark look, but then Jason exposed a part of his neck, so Percy went after that, instead.

"They just really want to kiss." Nico supplied and Percy didn't have to look around to know his statement was accompanied by a shrug.

Why did his boyfriends know him so well? That was hardly fair.

"Mhm, I can see that. So, I trust you're all good, then? That's good. Good, good. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving, knowing the four of you are struggling too much."

Percy and Jason both shot each other surprised looks, then turned to look around at the screen again, while Will and Nico shared a similarly confused look.

"Leaving? Where are you going?" Percy asked his mom, trying to remember whether she had mentioned anything of the sort before, though his mind came up blank.

Sally sighed deeply as she gazed off to the side for a moment, a conflicted look crossing her features.

"We had a…actually, Paul and I won something. It was really quite a surprise." His mother explained with a small smile, though Percy's frown only deepened.

They had…won something?

"Like…the lottery?" He asked, trying to remember whether Paul played the lottery, because his mother certainly didn't.

"No, it was one of those…those vacation trips you can sometimes win when you fill out a form at the supermarket." His mom elaborated, and he gave a small nod, though it still sounded weird.

"So, you won a vacation? That sounds great. When is it? And where to?" Jason asked curiously as he nudged Percy to sit up properly, and the next moment, Percy was ushered back to Will's side, though his boyfriend immediately shifted and tugged him between himself and Nico.

Percy followed, still frowning as his mother told them of some places he had never heard of, but that she would apparently visit on that giant cruise trip they had won.

What did she want in _Europe_?

Percy had no good memories of _Europe_ , Gaea and the gods had made sure of that.

They wouldn't take the plane, which he was grateful for, but why did she have to leave in the first place?

Sure, he was happy if she was happy, and if anybody deserved a vacation, it was his mom, but…so far away?

Out of nowhere?

"So, Paul and I decided to just do it. He already found somebody who will take over his teaching in the meantime, seeing as we'll be gone for the next few months, but it went surprisingly smoothly." His mother explained, and Will shifted next to him, though when Percy shot him a quizzical look, his boyfriend smiled at him brightly and gave him an encouraging nod that probably meant he should finally say something.

"That sounds…nice." He stated lamely, and Sally's face fell a little, her shoulders slumping.

"I'm so sorry, Percy. I'd stay if I could, I really would. But…you'll be fine, right? You have your Camp, your boyfriends, your friends…and we can still Iris message like before. It's not like you would have come visit anytime soon, anyways." She reasoned, and he hated that she was right.

"No, it's great. I'm…really happy for you, mom. Sounds like a really awesome vacation." He quickly put in to get that worried look off her face, but it still felt…he felt weird.

It had always been him leaving and coming back, but his mother had always been that one person that had never moved, never left him, and had always been somebody he could return to at any given time.

Of course, he didn't _mind_ her going on vacation, especially not with Paul, since the guy had proved to be decent and treat her well, but…

Was it really such a good idea to leave now?

Sure, it sounded all nice and fun, and she'd certainly be closer to the ocean than she had been in years, but… _now_?

"You had a visitor." Will said quietly, _softly_ , his eyes fixed on Sally, and Percy and Nico frowned at him, trying to decipher what _that_ meant.

It wasn't a question, but more of a statement – yet it seemed a rather strange one.

He looked back at his mom, and found her pursing her lips for a moment, before she nodded.

"I did."

"What visitor?" Percy immediately asked, his eyes still on his mother, though his attention was mostly on Will lowering his head with a small nod out of his peripheral vision.

What visitor? What did Will know? How did he know? What did it mean? What did this mean?

Did it change anything? Did it not?

Was his mom in danger?

The thought was laughable, but also not, and Percy was back to feeling sick.

Will's hand found his knee, giving it a gentle squeeze the way he liked to do to calm him down, and Percy reluctantly tried to let out a deep breath to relax his shoulders once more, though it didn't help much.

"The person who informed us of the vacation, of course." His mother said smoothly, then reached out for something out of their field of vision, before holding up a black folder that looked sleek and expensive rather than plain and simple, though Percy couldn't pinpoint why.

Maybe it was the delicate silhouette of a flower that gleamed golden as his mother waved with the folder a little.

Or maybe it was because vacations were expensive and a luxury Percy had never really had before, at least not like that, so anything that sounded expensive automatically looked expensive, too.

Nah, Percy was pretty sure it was the flower.

He eyed the folder warily for another moment, then studied his boyfriend, wondering how he had known.

Will didn't meet his gaze.

Percy tried for another moment, tempted to _ask_ , but at the same time, a part of him didn't want to know the answer.

What he really wanted was for his mom to stay where he could reach her, and for his boyfriends to take him to bed and have this day be just another normal day in a somewhat normal life.

"When will you leave?" Jason asked next to them, and Sally let out a soft sigh.

"At the end of the week. Paul and I will need some time packing, after all."

Percy inwardly cringed.

So soon?

What sort of vacation was this? Were such things always so short notice?

What if Paul hadn't been able to take some time off? How could that even be so simple?

Something about this seemed extremely fishy.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You should make the most of a vacation like that. Don't worry about Percy too much, we'll take good care of him." Will declared and patted Percy's leg, before giving his knee another squeeze.

"Aren't you lucky, Percy? Now you know that, no matter what happens, your mother will be safe and sound. Isn't that something?" Will added and met his gaze – and Percy was too taken aback to immediately react.

That…was a very good point.

They didn't know what was coming, just that it had to do with massive amounts of monsters appearing out of nowhere and disappearing just as fast, as well as _Kyle_ and whoever else he was working with, and that the Camps were in danger.

So…yeah, it might _really_ be a good thing to have his mother out of the country for a while, no matter how much Percy still disliked it.

Plus, if she was on a cruise trip, that put her right in Poseidon's realm, and he'd never let her get hurt, right?

Percy was going to hold onto that hope, anyways.

"I guess so. I mean, I'm all for this vacation. You deserve it, mom. Make sure to tell us all about it. Oh, and call us lots, okay? More than I do, anyways." He tried to sound upbeat, but the expression on his mother's face told him he wasn't succeeding.

"Well, you will certainly be able to see a lot of interesting sights and places. Who knows, maybe you can use them in your books." Jason mused, and Percy had almost forgotten his mother was into writing.

"Yeah, and if there's anything you think Percy would love to see, you should totally tell us. Did Percy mention we want to do a sort of cruise trip one day, too?" Nico chimed in, and Percy shot him a dubious look.

"I thought we wanted to get hold of a ship and sail the sea without set goal in mind?"

"Why does that sound exactly like something the four of you would do?" Sally asked, sounding remarkably unimpressed, though Percy guessed compared to all the things she had gone through with him in the past, the news that her only son would be sailing the sea without sense or reason really didn't seem all that big or even worrisome.

"The last time we talked about this, it sounded more like you wanted to be pirates. When did it turn into a cruise trip?" Will asked with raised eyebrows, while Nico's eyes widened and hushed to Sally with a near fearful expression, as if he expected her to lecture them for that.

She didn't, instead raising an eyebrow and leaning forward to rest her elbows on the small table to hide her smirk behind her hands as she watched them.

Percy smiled back at her while his boyfriends started discussing their past conversations on the matter and rambled about possible locations they knew had good sights (Jason), where they could get the best ships from (Nico) and that they were all crazy for talking about this _now_ , when they wouldn't be going on said trip for the next some years (Will).

"I can see you'll be fine." His mother said softly, and he gave a small shrug.

"Of course I'll be. But what about you?"

His mom nodded reassuringly, her smile gentle yet sad.

"It will be great, Percy. I'll call you. Or you'll call me. We'll work something out. And before we know it, those few months will be over and Paul and I will be back, and you four can come visit to look at all the pictures we took."

Percy looked down.

"Sounds like a plan. Take lots of pictures, okay? And enjoy yourself. I wasn't joking when I said you deserve that vacation."

Will wrapped an arm around his shoulders and tugged him against his side with a laugh.

"Yeah, do enjoy yourself. No reason not to. I'll make sure to keep these dorks alive. You'll find them alive and well when you come back, and who knows, maybe you can all go on a vacation together then." Will suggested and Percy rolled his eyes before ruffling through his boyfriend's hair.

"Yeah? Know what, that sounds like a _great_ idea – I might totally make use of that. Save up some money, invite you all on a _real_ cruise trip. Just the three of you, mom, Paul and me. Sounds good?" He asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows, and Jason and Nico grinned at him, while Sally laughed.

Will let out a small huff against his chest and wrapped his arms around him for a moment, tugging him into a hug that seemed unusual for the moment, though Percy didn't question it, instead kissing the top of his head.

"That already sounds like fun. So looking forward to it already." He mused with a grin.

"Maybe we should first let your mother _go on her vacation_ before we plan the next one, Percy." Nico put in doubtfully, but Percy waved off.

Never. This was a splendid idea, so it was practically already set in stone they would do it.

Right after they got through whatever the Fates were trying to throw their way.

Maybe it was simply time to pick up the bat and beat that stuff far out of their way.

Really, _really_ far out of their way.

Sadly, Percy was getting that ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach again that said things were about to change – and even if he wasn't ready to let go of this newfound 'peace' yet, he knew deep inside it was only a matter of time until something happened that would change everything.

His gaze settled back on his mother, who was watching them with that soft, yet also concerned expression once more.

Percy wished he could have more time.

He sighed, then frowned and glanced sideways at Will, who hurriedly looked away from him.

Though he could have sworn he had just looked at him with a look of utmost understanding in his eyes, as if he knew how Percy felt – or maybe even felt the same way.

Percy studied his profile a moment longer, then brushed off the thought and returned his attention to his mother.

Though it wasn't lost to him Will remained oddly quiet for the rest of the Iris message, and he didn't even complain when the first thing Percy did upon ending the call was throwing his arms around him and tugging him into the bed to cuddle and sleep.

They'd make it work somehow, time be damned, drama be damned, Camps be damned, Kyle be damned.

The Fates should totally go on a vacation, too.

...

"I'm sorry for forcing you to lie to your son."

Sally waved off, still gazing at the spot where she had last seen Percy smiling back at her and wishing her the best of luck.

"It's understandable. Will seems to know, though. Is that okay?" She asked as she made to get up, offering her guest another cup of coffee.

"Not ideal, but to be expected. He is beginning to make sense of what he is seeing, which is already great improvement, don't you think?"

Sally didn't know what to think, to be honest.

It wasn't every day she got visitors such as this one.

"Is this really necessary?" She asked, the doubts getting the better of her, after all.

She didn't want to leave Percy.

Sure, he had his boyfriends, his friends, the Camps, but none of that had protected him in the past.

She couldn't lose him another time.

Idly sitting around in the past had already been horrible enough, but actually _leaving_ like this, for her own protection, rather than sticking around for Percy to have a place to run to?

It didn't sound like anything she would have done under any other circumstances.

"I fear so. This is the only way we can guarantee your safety, Mrs. Jackson."

Sally bit her lip, but gave a small nod and poured herself another cup of coffee, not caring about the time of the day.

She wished she could have told Percy the truth.

All these years, she had raised him to be honest with her and let him know she'd never lie to him, and now…

"It is for your protection, same as theirs. The less people know, the less _others_ can find out."

She knew that.

It still bothered her, anyways.

"But they will be okay, right?" She asked barely audibly, thinking of the way they had looked at her, had wished her safe travels, had said their goodbyes…

Sally looked up, but the gaze that met hers was sad and pitying.

"I don't know, Mrs. Jackson. All we can do is hope for the best. It has already begun. There is no more we can do."

Sally nodded gravely, her heart aching in her chest.

She heard Paul in the hallway, collecting various items he wanted to pack.

He had taken the news so well, given the circumstances - Sally was so glad she had him.

Other men would have fled when confronted with a divine being and the threat of imminent death; but Paul hadn't done more than blink a few times before getting up to set up a pot of strong coffee and get the suitcases for them.

Sally straightened her back a little and looked back at their guest, who was getting up with a sigh.

"I shall leave you to yourselves now – these are a lot of news to stomach, and none of them good, after all. I have already arranged for somebody to pick you up, you will know when the time comes. I am sorry we had to meet under such dire circumstances, especially given the past."

Sally did her best to smile, trying not to think of said past.

"It's quite alright. If we get hung up on the past, we'll only end up missing the future."

Her guest chuckled as the two of them made their way towards the door.

"Wise words, Mrs. Jackson."

"Please, call me Sally." She insisted, surprised she hadn't done so sooner already.

Paul moved to her side to bid farewell as well.

Their guest smiled at them, eyes gleaming and skin glowing with an aura of ethereal beauty and power.

A hand reached out, and Sally shook it without hesitation, knowing the pact she was sealing.

They would leave – not to run away, but to be able to come back and be there for Percy once more, once this was over.

Whatever 'this' would end up being.

"Persephone."


	15. Chapter 15: Emergencies

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes :D

Sorry for the belated update, this noodle has successfully mixed up the days and somehow figured today was Sunday! (In other words, I'm an idiot. I even went to work today? I have no excuse.)

BUT WORRY NOT, I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY RELEARNED THE DAYS OF THE WEEK NOW! :D

On another note: I apologize for this chapter.  
It's got trigger warnings owo

Thank you so much for your Kudos and comments, you never cease to amaze me and brighten my days.  
Work is going well so far, by the way. A LOT to learn, but so far I'm confident ;)

Wish you all the best~  
-Tári

* * *

 **Trigger Warnings:**  
\- Graphic depiction of injury / fatal injury  
\- Blood  
\- Near-Death-Experience  
\- Hmmmm violence (Somebody gets punched in the face)  
\- Mentions of above TWs in conversations and indirect speech  
\- Angsty I guess  
\- Fear/Dread/Worry related to above  
\- I apologize for making the babies suffer

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Accidents, Emergencies and Visions**

Jason laid awake, gazing up at the ceiling as Will and Nico were snuggled into his sides, while Percy was half hanging out of the bed, occasionally shivering when Leo's extra built fan blew into his direction from wherever it was hiding.

(He was never going to let Leo build them anything, again. The A/C talked on occasion when it heard something it interpreted as a command, the fan was a moving robot that enjoyed playing hide-and-seek, and he would _not_ be surprised if Leo had also left any other strange invention in this place. The only thing that worked as it should was the light, and that hadn't even been anything they had originally wanted.)

(He was, of course, still grateful Leo had helped them out. Jason simply wished he could have just built them _normal_ things.)

Jason sighed, then turned his head slightly towards his left to look at Will better, who was clinging to his arm in his sleep and looked fairly peaceful, even if his eyelids kept twitching and his lips moved with no sound coming out.

He looked to his right to watch Nico, who had his nose buried at Jason's arm, his sleeping face angelic as usual.

Jason would never grow tired of watching them sleep like this.

Nico started moving, and Jason first thought it was getting too warm for him again, but instead of rolling away, Nico started shifting and pushing his way between Jason's arm and his chest, making small sounds of complaint until Jason decided to simply hold out his arm and let him come closer like that.

That seemed to please Nico as he promptly threw an arm over him and thus hit him in the stomach, closely followed by a knee nearly making contact with Jason's groin, though he averted the crisis just in time.

While Nico let out a satisfied grunt, Jason sighed in relief and shifted as to get more comfortable and settled on stroking along the strip of Nico's back his hand could reach like this.

Nico hummed contently, a small smirk playing on his lips.

Aww, how adorable.

"Jason, stooop, you're making me wake up." Nico mumbled in his sleep, and Jason's grin immediately widened at the way he slurred his words.

He leaned over and pressed his lips to Nico's forehead, which had his boyfriend huff out a small laugh and snuggle closer with a grin and a wail, trying to hide his face from him.

Obviously, Jason instantly went to chase after him, pressing a series of kisses to the top of his head and making Nico fake-sob against his skin.

"You're the worst." Nico complained, squinting up at Jason with one eye, but Jason merely cackled as quietly as he could and watched Nico stretching and sitting up with a disgruntled look, though the moment he had his eyes completely open, he was chuckling, too – before he smacked Jason in the face with a pillow.

Jason wailed and Will grumbled in complaint, promptly letting go of his arm and turning his back to them, clearly not wanting to partake in their childish but perfect morning activities.

Nico smacked him again with the pillow, so Jason snatched it from him and tossed it off the bed, just to wrap his arms around Nico and pull him back down with him.

Nico squeaked and started to complain, but then Jason was already attacking him with pecks and kisses all over his face – and once his boyfriend started covering said face, Jason instead kissed his hands.

"Jason, nooo…" Nico wailed and giggled beneath him, wriggling his legs between them to push Jason's chest away with his knees, which Jason considered cheating.

"Guys, I love you, but do you have to do that this early in the morning?" Percy grumbled next to them as he turned his head and shifted back onto the bed completely, promptly patting the mattress in search of the blanket, but Will was now happily hogging that instead of Jason's arm, so Percy was out of luck in that regard.

"Yes." Jason replied with utmost conviction, the same moment Nico pleaded for help.

Percy let out a deep sigh, and Jason was just turning his head back towards him when he was already smacked with another pillow.

Oh, _come on_.

"I knew letting you take all those pillows to bed was a bad idea." He grumbled into Percy's general direction as he reached out for him blindly, the pillow repeatedly hitting his face and making him glad he wasn't yet wearing his glasses.

Nico unexpectedly lunged at Jason and they both toppled backwards, Jason letting out a surprised huff and Nico another small squeal, while Percy started laughing and tossed the pillow off the bed to leap at them – which had both of them making matching sounds of distress, before he landed on top of Nico and they groaned in unison.

"Your fault." Nico grumbled, but Jason shook his head.

"Definitely your fault."

"You woke me up. You gotta suffer the consequences." Percy remarked on top of them smugly, beginning to rock them in a rather sexual rhythm, though there wasn't anything sexual in the way they groaned and tried to get him off them.

"You're too heavy this early in the morning." Nico complained, but Percy wasn't moved, instead rocking them even more.

"Guys, I don't know what you're doing, but that's not how a threesome works." Will muttered with a drowsy voice and they looked around at him, finding him squinting back at them with a disgruntled frown, still clutching the bundled up blanket like a teddy bear.

"We're not aiming for a threesome. Percy just wants to murder us." Jason explained, and Percy promptly did a little jumping motion as if to prove his point, leading to Nico and Jason groaning again, and Jason wished he was at least laying on his stomach.

Then he could work his arms under himself and push upwards and they'd fall off.

But this way, he was happy if Nico's hair stayed out of his mouth, and with Percy's rocking, he wasn't sure he'd manage to lift them both up without getting anybody hurt in the process.

So, instead, he suffered, hoping faintly that Will might safe them.

"Hm. Okay." Will said without discernable emotion – then turned his back to them again and apparently went back to sleep.

Nico promptly started ranting in Italian, undoubtedly cussing his boyfriend out as lovingly as usual, but Jason merely slumped back into the mattress and acted like a dead man.

Percy wasn't impressed by either, instead cackling loudly at their misery and continuing his torment.

He was just bragging they'd _never_ manage to get him off, when Nico suddenly worked his arms between him and Jason and pushed himself up on one side, promptly causing Percy to tumble down with a small, indignant wail.

Nico lunged at their boyfriend with a war cry, and after a moment of consideration, Jason decided he could be the voice of reason _later_ – so he joined in and wrapped himself around both of his boyfriends.

"Ha! Gotcha! You're mine now!" He exclaimed, followed by his best evil laugh he could muster, and Percy and Nico started laughing and complaining at the same time, wriggling in his arms, though if they had _really_ wanted to escape, Jason was pretty sure they'd have found a way.

Warm, freckled arms wrapped around him from behind, and Jason turned his head to look at Will, who still looked rather drowsy, but grinned at him broadly, anyways.

"And I got you. Which makes all of you _mine_." His boyfriend purred, then rubbed his face tiredly against Jason's back, and the three of them chuckled again, before Jason let them go to turn around and cuddle with his boyfriend.

Now _this_ was a morning he liked.

A perfectly peaceful start into a hopefully peaceful day.

There was shuffling behind him, then Nico ran his fingers up and down his back and pressed his lips against his shoulder, while Percy shifted closer to cuddle, too.

Sighing contently, Jason closed his eyes.

In times like these, he knew he could die and still be the happiest person in the world.

...

Will felt weird.

Something was off, but nothing was off, and that only served to make him feel even more confused.

He finished setting a splint and gave another patient a quick check-up to make sure they didn't have a concussion, then he moved to his room to sort through his mess for a bit while the infirmary was still sort-of quiet.

Alec joined him momentarily for a bit of small-talk, but left soon enough again to meet with Leo for reasons unknown to Will, though he didn't pry.

He _did_ wonder why Alec had asked about the sleeping habits of Will and his boyfriends, though.

Who asked that?

And why? What did it matter?

Will was confused about that, too.

With a sigh, he flopped down on the chair behind his desk and put his head on the stack of files on top of it.

So many things to be confused about.

He wondered what his guys were up to right now.

"Probably training." He mumbled to himself in reply, thinking of his boyfriends all sweaty and gross with their swords raised and their eyes gleaming, while they yelled orders and instructions towards their students.

Jason had said he'd join in today, so he'd probably be with Percy…

Will wished he could be there now, too.

Not that he disliked working in the infirmary – he loved it, of course – but today was a weird day, and he felt weird, and he kind of wanted to get to his boyfriends and make sure they were okay – maybe even take them somewhere else and just…curl up in their middle, knowing everything would be fine.

Which…also confused him.

"You okay?" Austin asked as he poked his head inside, undoubtedly having heard his pathetic groan of frustration.

"'m fine. Just got a headache coming, I think." He grumbled into the papers and his brother laughed.

What a cruel brother, laughing at his dismay like that.

"Want me to fetch your boyfriends? Bet they'll make you feel better."

Wow, what an alluring offer.

Unfortunately, Will knew he was joking, because there was no way anybody would get his boyfriends just because he was having a bit of a headache.

For that, something actually serious would have to-…

Will flinched as he felt his world tilt sideways, color exploding behind his closed eyelids.

Colors, figures, people, objects.

Movement, laughter, voices, noise.

People climbing what looked like the climbing wall.

Percy's voice.

A twist, a split in time, showing the scene, showing it again, replaying the same thing that wasn't the same thing.

A glow.

Another replay.

Will's mind tried frantically to grab hold of the pictures, the images, the scenes, but everything flashed by too quickly, until he _finally_ managed to snatch at least something, the climbing wall, working his mind around that, the people, the voices, Jason looking up with concern, Percy not paying attention, the kids distracted…

Will tried to make sense of it, tried to understand _why_ he was seeing this – until he did.

" _Jason_!" Will exclaimed, his voice laced with terror as he jumped up, startling Austin at the door.

"Will?"

Will didn't reply, rushing past him and towards the exit, while Austin called after him in confusion.

He ripped the door open at almost the same moment somebody tried to push it open from the other side.

Will already knew it would be Billy, sidestepping him easily as he brushed past him and out of the door.

"There was an accident at-…" The boy exclaimed, but Will didn't stop to hear him out, already knowing what he'd say.

Kayla called after him in confusion, followed by Austin running after him, but Will already knew that, too.

He knew it.

All of it.

Most of it.

Enough of it.

So, the first thing he did upon reaching the crowd of demigods surrounding his boyfriends, was making straight for Dylan and punching him right in the face, sending him toppling backwards with a yelp of pain.

"Will!" Austin exclaimed in horror behind him, but Will ignored him as he grabbed hold of the front of Dylan's shirt and pulled him back close with a snarl, ignoring the pain shooting through them both.

" _You listen here_ , Dylan. I don't give a single fuck about your issues with my boyfriends, but if they _ever_ get hurt because of your actions again, _I swear_ I will know, and it will be _me_ severing your joints one by one, tearing your muscles apart and peeling the flesh off your bones, and you _bet_ I will make sure you'll be alive and aware to witness most of it. Am I clear?!" He snarled into the frightened, dumbstruck face in front of him, and Dylan whimpered, his body trembling as his hands clutched Will's arm in horror.

"Will, what the-…" Austin started next to him, but Will ignored him, giving Dylan a rough shake.

" _Am I clear_?!" He repeated, louder this time, and not only Dylan flinched.

"Yes!" He whimpered hurriedly, tears spilling from his eyes as his bottom lip shook, and any other time, Will might have felt pity or sympathy.

As it was, he merely shoved him away with another snarl, then whirled around to rush to his boyfriends.

Jason was on the ground, knocked out cold with blood running down the side of his face, while Percy was next to him, his hands pressing a crumpled up shirt against the actual wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, his expression pleading as he looked up at Will.

"Will, _please_ …"

People hurried out of the way, though Will still wanted to snap at them for getting into his way in the first place.

However, Jason was more important right now.

"Will, how did you even…" Austin asked behind him, but Will ignored him as he let himself fall down next to Jason, instantly moving to assess which version of his vision was the right one.

Unsurprisingly, it was the shiny one, where Jason took most damage.

"I'm sorry. I didn't _see_ …" Percy whispered quietly but frantically as Will pulled the shirt away, but Will shook his head grimly.

"Not your fault. I know. It's okay. He'll be fine." He replied, his voice sharp but his words hopefully not.

"Fuck, that looks _bad_." Austin whispered and moved to join Will's side, but Will held out an arm.

"I can handle it. It's possible. Get Kayla and tell her I need her and Alec, as well as anyone and anything she deems helpful."

"How bad is it?" Austin asked hesitantly as he watched Will moving his hands to cup Jason's face, flinching at the onslaught of information.

"Hurry up." Was all Will replied with, and Austin made a small sound and ran off to do as he had been told.

"Percy, get the people to get lost." He ordered as his hands moved over Jason's face fleetingly, before he moved them to the actual wound – a long gash from the top of Jason's head along the side.

So much blood.

 _Too much._

Will shuddered, then took a calming breath and placed his hands back on Jason's skin.

It was a fatal wound, but he could do it.

He could handle it.

All he had to do was keep calm and focus.

He had mended bones before, a fractured skull would _probably_ be similar.

It would be okay.

Percy gave a nod as he got up and Will could hear him sniffle, but he did as he was told and started shooing the onlookers away, while Will closed his eyes and concentrated.

He didn't even bother calling for his dad's help, unwilling to take the risk of too much time passing, so he channeled his own powers, feeling for the tug in his gut as he placed his hands back on Jason's cheeks, wiping away the blood and taking a shaky breath as he began glowing, the warmth flowing through himself and into Jason.

It would be okay.

Jason would live.

When Will had dreamed of Tartarus, Jason had still been alive, so he would survive this, too.

Will began humming to help him focus as he gazed at Jason's face, searching for where to best start.

He had never fixed this much damage before.

There was so much he didn't know.

If he rushed, he might overlook something crucial.

If he was too slow, he might do more damage than good.

Will let out shaky breath after shaky breath, humming a soft tune as he concentrated on repairing the brain tissue, starting from the inside out and hoping against hope Jason would end up fine afterwards.

Healing wasn't just dumping his energy into a body and having the body know what to do with it – he had to guide it, had to tell it what to do.

Usually, when Will healed, it was things like bruises, a black eye, maybe a broken bone or two or twenty, so it was a nearly automate and thus easy process.

He had reattached limbs and fixed old surgery mistakes, but this…

Will swallowed thickly and heard Nico's voice somewhere behind him, loud and frantic and terrified, but he didn't look around and didn't speak, trying not to listen as Percy broke down crying and told him what had happened, even though his heart still ached at all the pain around him.

Will's fingers shook on Jason's cheeks, and once the blood stopped running out of his nose, he dared to move his hands further towards his ears, the glow intensifying as he tried to figure out how to _mend_ the skull.

What if he messed up, and there'd be too much pressure?

He had _read_ about hemorrhages and the like before, but that had all been _theory_!

"Will!" Kayla's voice cut through his haze as he started cleansing out whatever he found that didn't belong inside Jason's head, dissolving dirt and cracked bone and drawing another shaky breath as he felt the skull mending ever so slowly.

"Can you clean him up a bit? I need to be able to see the damage to fix it." He whispered, his voice shaky and weak.

He didn't look up at Kayla to check whether she had heard, but he heard her moving and then saw her working along Jason's head with a bunch of white cloths she must have brought.

Jason's body jolted slightly, and Will's heart stopped at the thought of Jason _waking up_ when he was like this.

The pain would be unbearable.

Will wished they had anything on hand they could give him to make sure he'd stay unconscious, but they rarely had to use anything other than ambrosia and/or nectar, so their medical equipment still wasn't the best.

There was more shuffling, then he felt his siblings joining his side.

"How do we help?" He heard Alec ask for instructions, but he didn't know, and he didn't dare to stop concentrating on Jason's skull, not when it could kill him still.

"Apply the cream around the wound and on the burns at his ear and neck. Will, want us to join in the healing?" Kayla tried, but Will shook his head.

"I'm using my own, not dad's. It might clash."

There were a few startled sounds, but he ignored them in favor of leaning over Jason slightly, trying to keep calm.

It would be fine.

He could heal him.

He had made it this far, he would make it.

"How bad is it?" Kayla asked, and Will closed his eyes as he went through all his text books mentally, trying to recall everything he had read that might be crucial right now.

"Fractured parietal bone, a comminuted fracture" He whispered, cringing at the gasps and groans some of his siblings let out.

He heard Nico asking what it meant, what he had just said, but Will couldn't make himself explain, and didn't pay attention whether anybody else did.

"Damaged brain tissue – several tears in the membranes." He continued, glancing at the blood and cerebrospinal fluid dripping out of Jason's nose, though Kayla wiped both away a moment later, her expression grim from what Will could tell.

"Heavy bruising along the wound and eyes, probably both from the fracture, not additional blows." Alec added as he assessed the cleaned-up mess that was the side of Jason's head.

Will hadn't even notice his skin turning purple, but now that he did, he felt even more anxious and nauseated, squeezing his eyes shut to focus on his healing more.

"Severe loss of blood and brain fluids. Brain damage of unknown extent." He finished his lacking report, his throat burning as he swallowed thickly.

Nico gasped in horror. Percy let out a choked sob. Will's heart broke.

"What are you doing?" Alec asked, his hands hovering to the left and right of Jason's head, as if feeling for the same things Will could feel, though he knew Alec's powers were different from his own.

Will drew a shaky breath, the edges of his vision turning blurry.

"Just finished mending the skull to the best of my knowledge."

He could only pray he hadn't missed anything.

If there was too much pressure…or too little pressure…or what if he had missed something and anything got infected?

"Okay. Did you check for spinal damage?" Alec asked, while Kayla dabbed at Jason's ears gently, ridding them of the blood and CSF as well.

Will nodded faintly.

"None. Just burns and bruises."

"We'll deal with those. You focus on the healing." Alec assured him, and he gave a small nod before returning his whole focus on Jason once more.

Less talking. More healing.

If he was too slow…

He wasn't allowed to be too slow.

.

It still took forever until Will finally let go of Jason, his breathing ragged and his mind foggy as he pulled his forehead away from Jason's, inspecting his work weakly.

The last step from his side had been to regrow the skin tissue to have it reconnect properly, which meant there would be a lighter patch of skin at Jason's head now, but hell, he was alive, he would live, and that was all that mattered right now.

He would take care of the scar later, no big deal.

It was nothing compared to the blue-purple bruising his siblings had managed to get rid of over the course of the past hour, through combined powers and sheer force of will.

Austin said something he couldn't catch, but he nodded anyways, allowing them to move his Jason, to lift him onto a stretcher, to begin moving towards the infirmary.

A part of him wanted to do that himself, but he didn't speak up, knowing he was in no state to carry Jason's weight – also, he knew he could trust his siblings.

"Will?"

Nico's voice was weak, quiet and scared.

Will turned towards him tiredly, spreading out his arms automatically in both invitation and plea.

His boyfriends smacked into his chest almost immediately, throwing their arms around him and pressing him against them so tightly his back gave a small crack.

"He'll be okay, right? Please tell me he will be alright."

"This is all my fault! If I had just _seen_! But I was just…and he was…and there was…and it was just…there was _so much blood_!"

Nico and Percy exclaimed, both so frantic, so scared, and Will dug his fingers into their backs.

"I 've done all I could. Physically, he will be okay. He's alive, and he'll be okay." He whispered, and Percy started sobbing into his neck, the guilt and pain inside him nearly unbearable to Will right now, though he pushed through it and closed his eyes, focusing on the tug in his gut again.

Just…a little bit…for their sake…

He started glowing again faintly, much weaker than before, but with all their physical contact, he knew it still helped, and he tried his best to ease their minds with all the power he could muster.

Just to give them a little peace of mind, for a little while.

"So much blood…I heard a crack, and we fell, and he was just…just laying there, and there was so much blood…" Percy whispered, trembling in his arms, but all Will could do was whisper soft words and reassurances, promising them Jason would be okay.

His body, anyways.

Will had no idea about any other damage he might have taken, and his vision hadn't given him any insight on that, either.

For all he knew, Jason could very well remain in a coma, or suffer amnesia again, or there might be follow-up complications…

Will spotted Billy out of the corner of his eyes, the boy looking ashen in the face as he watched them, clearly trying to figure out whether Jason would make it or not.

He gave him a small nod, and the boy visibly relaxed almost immediately, before nodding back and hurrying away to give them their space.

Will was about to close his eyes again when somebody else caught his attention, and it took all his self-control not to snarl and lash out as he saw Dylan shuffling around a few feet away from them, his tears now dried and his expression one of utmost guilt, though he wasn't brave enough to step closer.

"Ready to go to the infirmary?" He asked his boyfriends once he felt them relaxing slightly, allowing him to stop his healing and hope he had done enough to keep them calm until Jason woke up and could reassure them all.

 _If_ he woke up.

Dylan shuffled, his mouth opening and closing, but he didn't dare to come any closer, so Will ignored him.

Percy and Nico gave small nods, but didn't speak, and Will took them both by the hand and gave a gentle tug to make them move.

Dylan stumbled after them for a moment, but then Will shot him a cold, menacing look and he froze where he was.

The rational part of Will knew it had been an accident.

The rest of him didn't care.

Dylan shrunk away from his gaze, looking guilty and ashamed, and before Percy and Nico could even look around to spot him, Will already urged them to leave, leading them away from the leftover blood on the ground, the blood-soiled shirt, the climbing wall and Dylan, who hugged himself and looked down at the ground with a broken look.

Will turned his back to him and left.

...

When Jason woke up, everything was blurry and his boyfriends were staring down at him with looks of concern and fear.

What…?

The blurriness he could get behind because he was pretty sure he wasn't wearing his glasses, but…what?

"Uh…" He started, then cut himself off with a loud, pained groan as he tried to sit up, everything inside him complaining.

"Maybe you should stay down." Percy suggested hurriedly, while Will disappeared from his side hurriedly.

"Guys? What is-…" He tried again, sitting up against his better judgment, and the next moment, his world tilted sideways as the nausea hit him in the face so unexpectedly, he could only shove Percy away with one arm before he started retching.

Will caught his shoulder and held out a bucket, which he was endlessly grateful for as his stomach rid itself off all its content for reasons unknown to him.

"Percy, get a glass of water. Nico, fetch Alec." Will instructed, and Jason was as confused as ever.

Wait, why Alec?

Why was this bed so high?

Why was it so _bright_?

Okay, they definitely weren't in their cabin.

"What's going on?" He asked, feeling a twinge of fear zapping through him, but that only made him retch again as Will steadied him and maneuvered his arms around the bucket so he could hold it by himself and allow Will to move his hands along his neck up to his head.

There was a…pounding inside his head, but it didn't hurt, though somehow Jason thought it _should_ , which only added to his confusion.

"Will, where are we?" He asked, Will's silence only making him even more uneasy.

"In the infirmary. How are you feeling, Jason?"

What sort of question was that?

"Pretty confused and, frankly, scared. What happened?" He tried again, trying not to turn his face towards Will so he wouldn't breathe at him.

Though the stench of vomit undoubtedly already filled the entire room.

"You had an accident. Can you tell me what the last thing is you remember?" Will asked, and Jason hated how distant his voice seemed.

He was in his doctor-mode, which couldn't possibly mean anything good, and now Jason was seriously beginning to panic.

"I…we…I'm not sure?" He started, feeling the dread swirling through him as he tried to grasp at what he was _supposed_ to remember.

Had he forgotten something? How would he know?

Did that mean he was losing his memory again?

Was that what Will was implying?

What had happened?

What had he forgotten?

His breath hitched, and Will instantly moved his hands to his shoulders, his touch both firm and reassuring.

"It's oaky, Jason. Stay calm. Just start with whatever comes to mind first. It will be okay."

Jason gave a small nod, his breathing irregular as he started trembling, feeling sick and scared.

He couldn't lose his memory _again_.

It had taken him so long to remember…

"I…I woke up first today. You were to my left, Nico to my right. Percy was dangling off the bed. It was…it was really early? We had a quiet morning. Percy and I took a shower first, then you and Nico took one, and we left for breakfast." He recounted, feeling both stupid and panicky at the same time.

Will's thumbs were rubbing circles into his shoulders, soothing him as he nodded for him to continue.

"Do you remember what you ate?"

Who cared what he had eaten?

Jason tried to remember, then gave a small nod.

"Toast. Percy tried to give me his pancakes, though."

Will nodded in affirmation, and Jason relaxed slightly, though he still clutched the bucket tightly.

"And after breakfast?" Will asked, and there was a knock at the door before it opened and Alec, Percy and Nico moved back inside.

Jason cringed when he saw Alec's nose wrinkle in automatic disgust at the stench.

Will shook his head and reached out to take the bucket from him.

"It's okay, Jason. Completely normal. In a way. Think you'll need it again?"

Jason shook his head and let him have it, feeling uncomfortable to be taken care of like this, though he trusted his boyfriend to know what he was doing.

"Here you go…" Percy whispered, holding out a glass of water with shaky hands, looking stricken and slightly green in the face, himself.

Jason wanted to reach out and reassure him, but he still had no idea what was going on or what had happened.

Will left his side to move towards Alec, passing the bucket on to him and having a whispered conversation Jason couldn't overhear.

Nico moved to Jason's other side, reaching out ever so tentatively to stroke along his left ear.

"How are you feeling?" He breathed barely audibly as Jason drank, and he gave a helpless shrug.

"I have no idea. How am I supposed to feel? I'm…confused, I guess."

"Do you remember what happened?" Percy asked worriedly, and Jason felt the fear settling in his stomach like a stone.

"I…I don't know…" He mumbled, unsure what to say or do.

The door closed and he looked up to find Will moving back over to him, a reassuring smile on his face.

"So, after breakfast?" He continued as if they had never stopped, and Jason took a deep breath, trying to get his thoughts together.

"We…Nico went to the arena to train, and Percy and I went together to teach the other group."

Will nodded again, while Nico and Percy sat down to his left and right, leaning ever so faintly against him, both of them looking extremely exhausted.

"Do you remember where you went with Percy?" Will asked softly, taking out a small flashlight and leaning over Jason to check his eyes.

He knew that procedure already, so he let him do it without complaint, though it still confused him and left him blinking in discomfort afterwards.

Then, Will suddenly pinched his thigh and he jumped slightly, looking up at him in bewilderment, though Will merely let out a relieved sounding sigh and gave him an encouraging nod.

"To…to the training grounds?" He muttered, trying to concentrate on what he could remember, but the more he tried to force it, the less he _could_ remember.

Had they gone to the training grounds? It sounded logical to go there, but then why would Will ask?

Maybe they had stopped somewhere before then?

Could he actually remember them being there, or was he just making that up now?

Or maybe it was a memory of a different day?

Jason moved to bury his face in his hands, trying to make sense of the mess inside his head.

He remembered the training grounds, but then tried to piece together how he could have gotten hurt, and his mind supplied him with countless images that might or might not have been true – or just figments of his imagination.

He shuddered, and Will kneeled down in front of him, his hands on Jason's knees, squeezing in reassurance.

"It's okay, Jason. Give it time. Come on, take a deep breath. Now, hold it. Hold it – and now let go." Will started, and Jason obediently followed his instructions, the shift in focus helping him relax as he controlled his breathing, gazing into Will's bright blue eyes.

He was dimly aware of Percy joining in as well, taking deep, steadying breaths next to him and releasing them in sync, while Nico was looking down at his lap with a tormented look on his face.

"I don't think I can remember." Jason admitted hesitantly, but Will shook his head softly and gave his knees another squeeze.

"It's okay. It might just be a temporary thing and you'll remember again once your body has had a chance to catch up."

Jason gave a small nod, then stiffened.

"How long was I out?" He asked hesitantly, dread filling him all over again at the thought of having been knocked out for days or weeks or months, even.

Will immediately shook his head and reached out to stroke over his cheek.

"Just a few hours, Handsome. Everything is okay. You recovered very quickly."

Thank the gods.

"Can you…can you tell me what happened?" He asked, unable to help it.

Will's eyes flickered to Percy for a moment, then he gave a slow nod.

"You and Percy went to the climbing wall with your group today. But then a girl nearly fell, so you and Percy tried to coordinate everybody to work on your team work, as well as self-preservation. Dy-…somebody interrupted though, and when you were distracted, Percy nearly got hit by a boulder, so you rushed to cover him." Will explained, and Percy tensed next to him, while Nico started clinging to Jason's arm.

"When the boulder hit you, it not only gave you a concussion, but it also made the side of your head connect with one of the worn-down grips, and the force of the boulder caused the protruding screw to…hurt you." Will continued, suddenly oddly vague as he averted his gaze.

Percy let out a small sniffle, and Will moved one of his hands to clasp Percy's thigh, while the other one stroked through Jason's hair before settling on the back of his head, his expression pained.

"The pain knocked you out and you and Percy fell to the ground. I don't know whether you intentionally grabbed him like that, but you took most of the impact of the fall – luckily not where the lava was, but close. Percy then dragged you to the side and Billy went to get help as fast as possible."

Jason gave a small nod, though he wasn't sure he understood.

His hand moved up to the side of his head where Will had his hand, but Will moved it to his _other_ side, letting him feel his disheveled hair and oddly sensitive skin, though he couldn't feel any irregularity or wound, and there was no pain.

"Will healed you. He…he appeared moments after it happened, really." Percy explained, and Jason gave another small nod, his fingers still running along the side of his head.

When he pulled it away, there was a bit of blood on his fingers that gave Jason pause as his mind went blank, but Will took his hand and clasped it tightly in his own, his eyes boring into Jason's.

"It's dried, Jason. Everything is alright now. We cleaned you up as best as the situation allowed."

Jason gave another nod, then tried to get up.

Percy and Nico let out matching sounds of distress, but Will let him try, holding out his arms to steady him should he need it.

"Can I…can I go to the bathroom?" He asked uncertainly, though he wasn't quite sure himself whether he wanted to pee or puke.

"Sure thing. I'll take you there, if that's alright with you." Will offered, and Jason nodded, holding onto him as the world swam around him.

"Oh! Your glasses!" Percy exclaimed, jumping up and patting down his pockets hurriedly, before pulling out Jason's glasses and holding them out to him, a look of guilt on his face.

Jason took them from him with the warmest and most grateful smile he could muster right now, before putting them on.

"Thank you, Percy."

Percy gazed at him with a conflicted look on his face, then he nodded and looked down, and Will waited until Jason was done looking around them before he took his arm, leading him towards the door.

"You might feel dizzy or nauseous for a while, but that's a given with your extent of injury, so don't worry too much. Tell me if anything hurts though, or if you feel the pressure in your head increasing. Any sort of stiffness in your neck or pounding or headache you feel, no matter how light, could be a sign I missed something, so tell me _immediately_. The same goes for your temperature. If you feel like you're having a fever, get somebody to check right away." Will instructed with his doctor-voice again, and Jason nodded in reply, trying to figure out just how badly he must have been injured for them to be _this_ worried.

They saw a few other medics buzzing about, but nobody said anything, instead moving out of the way immediately and ogling them with wide eyes and surprised looks that didn't make Jason feel any more comfortable.

"Was it really that bad?" He asked hesitantly when even Kayla shot him a worried look and didn't linger to say a single word.

Will didn't reply for a long moment, then he nodded.

He didn't elaborate, nothing to give Jason an actual reply, but it was that very fact that showed how serious it had been.

"Will you be okay by yourself?" Will asked when they reached the bathroom and Jason made to go inside, and he gave a quick nod.

He had hit his head, not his legs, so while he was still feeling rather dizzy, he should be able to move well enough.

The moment the door was closed, Jason moved to the mirror.

"By the gods…" He breathed, brushing through his bloodied hair and along his ear, which had streaks of blood on it as well, same as his nose.

Not to mention his _clothes_.

Wow, if he looked like this _after_ they had cleaned him up, how had he looked _before_?

.

After his trip to the bathroom and back, Will had him go back to bed immediately, telling him that it was okay for him to move about, but that he should definitely give his body enough chance to rest.

Then, Jason had been urged to drink some nectar, and had gotten Will's permission to let Percy and Nico into his bed as well so he didn't feel as much as a dying person.

Plus, he could tell by their faces alone that they needed the physical contact and reassurance as much as he did right now.

He had half expected Will to leave them eventually to return to his work or whatever, but Will stayed with them, alternating between sitting on the chair next to the bed and sitting at the edge of the bed, though he also liked to pace a lot, mostly with a book in his hand, though Jason never caught the title(s).

At some point, Jason must have fallen asleep though, because he now found himself waking up to his boyfriends having a hushed conversation.

"But he's okay, right?" Nico's voice asked hesitantly, and Jason promptly stopped his frowning, knowing this was about him.

"Of course. I would never lie about something like this, Nico. His recovery is going great." Will replied quietly, apparently back to sitting on the chair next to the bed.

"Will?" Percy asked next, his voice quiet and uncertain, and Will hummed in reply.

"How did you know?"

Jason inwardly frowned, but tried to be as still as possible.

"I mean, you showed up _moments_ after it happened, but you seemed to know exactly _how_ everything had happened, even though Billy hadn't even seen half of the whole thing – not to mention he couldn't have possibly told you all of that in such a short amount of time." Percy elaborated, and Jason felt Nico stilling completely.

For a long moment, there was silence.

"I saw it." Will then said quietly, and Jason felt Nico tense.

"I saw it. Inside my head. Usually, I see them before they happen, but in this case, I think it was more along the lines of simultaneously, or it just took me that long to figure it out." Will explained, and Nico's hand found Jason's arm and clutched it tightly, though Jason had no idea whether he knew he was awake or not.

"Figure _what_ out?" Percy asked for clarification, and Will huffed.

"The vision, Percy. Come on, I know you have noticed before. I've been getting them, but usually only flashes and the like, about trivial stuff – like what a person is going to say next. This was a bit more elaborate and difficult to figure out, since there is _a lot_ that happens at the same time." Will explained, and Jason's heart sank.

So…Percy and Nico had been right, huh?

Will _did_ get visions – and he knew about them, too.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nico asked, and Jason inwardly cringed at his sharp tone, though he couldn't blame Nico for being upset.

"It wasn't important. As I said, it was just small stuff before, so I didn't pay it much mind."

Jason visibly cringed at that, opening his eyes to catch Will shrugging.

Nico's face fell, before he looked positively _angry_.

"You know not even the oracle can see glimpses of the future, and you tell me _it wasn't important_?!" Nico's voice was getting louder and louder, and Jason's heart dropped as he winced at the noise involuntarily.

Oh no. Not _now_. They couldn't start fighting _now_!

Jason clasped Nico's hand and tugged on it to draw his attention away from Will, who looked uncomfortable and somehow reminded him of a caged animal, while Percy cleared his throat to apparently speak up, himself.

He never got the chance though, because suddenly, the door was thrown open and Leo stormed in.

"Jason! I just heard you _nearly died_!" He exclaimed, his voice loud and frantic and laced with fear – and if Jason hadn't already been awake, he surely would have been now.

Austin appeared in the doorway behind him breathlessly, looking guilty and sheepish as he mumbled an apology to Will.

"Hi Leo." Jason greeted with a small smile and tried to push himself up further, which had Percy and Nico moving to slide off the bed and make space so Leo could sit down at his side, studying him from head to toe.

"No offense, but you look terrible. Anyways, is it true? Did you actually break your head open? The people who saw it happen are absolutely beside themselves, you have no idea. They're all sitting together in the dining pavilion and three quarters of them are in tears." Leo told him and he frowned, shooting his guys a quizzical look.

"My…head…?"

"Dude! You don't have amnesia again now, right? What's my favorite dish, man? How old are you? What are you getting me for my birthday? Who is the fifth president of the-…"

"Leo, stop it. Jason is healing, so don't pester him, or I'll ban you from the infirmary." Will cut in, sounding oddly on edge, but Leo only raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yeah? Like you punched Dylan in the face? They talked about that, too."

"You did _what_?!" Both Jason and Nico asked, and Will flinched back, though his expression changed from caged to resolute in an instant again.

"He did. He came running from the infirmary and punched Dylan in the face before we even knew what was happening." Percy confirmed, and Will shot him a disgruntled look for a moment, before crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking away.

"Yeah, and apparently, you nearly made him wet his pants with whatever it was you said – _and_ you scared the hell out of the lot of them. Nobody wanted to tell me _what_ it was you said, which sucks. Dylan hasn't shown his face anymore ever since then, by the way."

Jason looked back at Will, who didn't even look remotely guilty, merely giving a small, noncommittal shrug.

"Why Dylan?" Jason asked, feeling like he should know this, but his mind came up blank.

"He was complaining again. A lot. And then he nearly made Roxanne fall, even though it was a miracle she even tried to climb at all, scared as she was. You told him to shut it and we tried to give them instructions so they could work on their teamwork and watch each other's backs. That's how we…ended up getting distracted and…and then you got hit." Percy explained hesitantly, and Jason looked back at Will, who was looking down at his hands.

Leo made Jason turn his head, even if there was nothing for him to see anymore other than a slightly lighter patch of skin and missing hair, though Will had told him that would fix itself by tomorrow.

"Damn, so it's true? And you bled out of your brain and everything?" Leo asked, sounding both amazed and horrified, and Jason looked back at Will.

"I don't know. Did I?" Jason asked hesitantly, feeling somewhat queasy at the thought of having taken _that much_ damage.

They were all no stranger to pain or injury or death, but to nearly die while teaching kids to climb a wall? That was kind of…well, _unexpected_.

Will hesitated for a moment, his gaze not meeting Jason's.

"Basilar fracture. You…well, basically, you had a fractured skull."

That…that meant his head had actually been cracked open, right?

"I think I need to lay down." He said feebly, feeling sick all over again, and Will was instantly on his feet and dragged Leo away from the bed and towards the door before Leo even seemed to know what was happening.

"You can visit him tomorrow if he wants you to – now _out_ , he needs rest!" Will declared with a slight snarl in his voice, before he slammed the door shut in Leo's upset face, while Jason was promptly pushed back down into the bed by Nico and Percy.

"You fixed _my skull_?!" He asked in disbelief, his hand back at the side of his head, but Will tugged it away and leaned down to place a kiss to the spot.

"I did. Please, you're okay now, Jason. Don't think about it too much."

"You mean, I shouldn't break my head over it?" Jason asked sarcastically, and Will flinched ever so slightly, before he gave him a pointed nudge and put his hand on his forehead, as if to take his temperature.

"Exactly. Instead, you should go to sleep and let your body rest. Do you want us to stay with you? I can get one of the beds from the other rooms once the infirmary is officially 'closed', then we will have more space."

Jason made a face at him.

"Can't we go back to our cabin?"

He really just wanted to take a shower and go to bed – _their_ bed – and forget this whole day had ever happened in the first place.

"Are you crazy? You just heard your head was cracked and you expect Will to let you walk out of the infirmary the very same day?" Percy asked in disbelief, and Jason caught Nico looking equally doubtful.

"I know you'd much rather spend the night in familiar surroundings, but I have to agree with Percy. It would be better if you sleep here, just in case there are any complications. I can heal you if necessary, but I have to admit I'm already exhausted as it is, and I don't want to risk your life just because I overestimate myself." Will reasoned, and any argument Jason might have considered using died in his throat.

He gave a small nod in understanding, and saw Will's shoulders relax slightly, before he leaned over him to press his lips to his forehead.

"Thank you, Jason. If there's nothing worrisome by tomorrow, I promise we can move you back to the cabin, alright?"

Jason nodded his okay, and Percy and Nico climbed into his bed once more to resume their earlier position.

"Do you want anything from the cabin, though? I can fetch you anything you need." Will offered, but Jason shook his head.

"All I need is my boyfriends. Come here, Freckles." He said and reached out for his boyfriend, so Will let out a soft sigh and moved closer to let him tug him into the bed, as well.

It was afternoon, and the room was nowhere as cool as their room was with Leo's newly built A/C, but it was cool enough to allow for at least a bit of cuddling, for a little while.

Will trembled slightly in his arms, but Jason knew he wasn't cold.

"I can't believe you punched Dylan in the face." Nico muttered, but at least it didn't seem like he wanted to pick a fight again.

"He also threatened him to tear him apart if he dares to get us in danger again. You should have heard him, Nico. Even _I_ was scared for a moment." Percy mumbled, but Will merely shrugged.

"You don't mess with my guys, that's simply how it is."

"I get that, but you're usually the peaceful one, I'm just saying." Percy said quietly, which promptly made Will snort.

"I'll let you believe that, Percy."

"Will Dylan be okay, though?" Jason asked hesitantly, and Will moved his head to look up at him, studying his face.

"I gave him a black eye. Granted, I first wanted to break his nose, but that would have meant I'd have to fix him up later. So, yeah, he'll be fine." He then said with a small shrug, and Jason let out a sigh.

He wasn't sure what to think of this mess.

All he knew was that he wanted to turn back time to this morning, when he had been in bed with his boyfriends and hoped for a peaceful day.

(Apparently, the mere thought had offended the Fates enough to do _this_ though, so he might want to change what he wished for in the mornings.)

"Are you going to tell us? About any other visions you had so far?" Nico asked quietly, and Will tensed momentarily in Jason's arms.

Then he shrugged.

"I can barely remember those, Nico. It's pretty much as if you have a flashback, just that it's the future, not the past, and you see the same scene replaying a hundred or so times, each a bit different than the other. I wouldn't know how to put that into words."

"Then can you at least tell us when it happens again?" Nico asked, a hint of urgency as well as exasperation in his voice.

"Oh sure, I'll just drop everything I'm doing to run to you and tell you somebody is going to sneeze even though they already would have by then. Or that Austin is going to storm inside this room any moment to offer us tea." Will replied with a definite hint of sarcasm in his voice, and Jason could feel the tension in the air without needing to look at either of them.

Great. Just great. This was exactly what he needed.

His boyfriends fighting.

Why were they so keen on fighting _right now_?

The door was thrown open, and Austin poked his head inside.

"Anybody want tea? Dimitri brought some for Kayla, but she doesn't know what to do with it."

Wait, for real?

"Told you so." Will grumbled, while Jason, Percy and Nico exchanged uneasy looks.

"Erm, guys? Tea, yes or no?" Austin asked with a confused look, and the three of them looked at Will in question, who raised an eyebrow at them.

"What? You want tea or not?"

"I don't know. Do we?" Nico asked, and Will huffed out a small laugh that held no joy.

"You gotta know that, yourself." He deadpanned, and Nico made a disgruntled face, before looking at Jason and Percy in question, his annoyance making way for a look of confliction.

"I don't think so." Jason replied to Austin, and the boy frowned at them a moment longer before nodding and closing the door.

" _See_? This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you!" Will immediately hissed, and Nico threw up his arms in agitation.

"If you already knew we-…"

"I didn't know _anything_ , Nico. I just heard Kayla telling Austin to ask us when they passed the door. But it proved my point just fine!" Will cut in, and Nico snapped his mouth shut, while Jason tried to think of something to say to alleviate the situation.

"You thought I knew, so you immediately reacted by expecting me to choose the better outcome. It's a natural reaction. That's _exactly_ why Rachel doesn't want to tell people their future. They either try to forcibly make it happen, or try everything to stop it from happening, instead of just _living_." Will continued, and Nico averted his gaze, looking guilty and conflicted.

"Will?" Percy asked quietly, unusually still and quiet next to them.

"What?" Will asked with a huff of frustration, and Percy looked up at him with sad eyes.

"Can we please stop fighting? I mean, I agree with Nico, you should have told us – at least that you're having visions in the first place. But I can also see why you chose not to. It's okay, I get you both. But, can we _please_ just get along? I don't know if you get this, but Jason _nearly died_. For a very long and very painful moment, _I thought he was dead_. Do you have any idea how it feels to think that, and then see you two fight over something so stupid?"

Both Nico and Will looked down in shame, but all Jason could think of doing was turning sideways and wrapping his arms around Percy and pulling him close, even if Will was still between his legs and the angle was awkward.

"I'm alive, Percy." He whispered quietly, and Percy clutched him tightly, a small sob escaping his lips.

Will sat up to give him more space, and Jason wrapped himself around Percy, trying to give him all the reassurance and physical contact he could muster, while Percy clung to him and pressed his face into his chest with more sobs and sniffles.

"Shh, it's okay, love. We're okay. I'm okay." He whispered reassuringly, stroking up and down Percy's back soothingly.

"I'm sorry." Nico apologized quietly behind them, as Jason rocked Percy slightly back and forth with

"I'm sorry, too." Will admitted, and Jason glanced sideways at them, before nodding for them to come closer as well.

They did, and Will even managed to squeeze himself behind Percy without falling off the bed, so they shuffled and shifted until they could snuggle together in a somewhat comfortable position, arms and legs wrapped around each other, a bundle of warmth and tears and trembling shoulders.

They stayed like that until Jason fell asleep.

.

Jason woke up several times that night.

First, when Will came back with Alec and an additional bed, though the moment Will had asked him whether he was in any pain, Jason had shook his head and promptly fallen asleep again.

The next time, he had woken up _thinking_ he was in pain, but then he hadn't been, so he had tugged Percy closer and fallen back asleep.

The following times, he had woken from a dull pounding in his head that had stopped the moment he had been awake enough to question it.

After that, he kept waking up because of dreams he actually remembered for once, though he wished he didn't – they were all about his accident, about what-if's, about pain and broken skulls.

Will was awake every single time he opened his eyes, asking him how he was feeling and lulling him back to sleep with soft words and gentle touches, but whether he woke up with him, or stayed awake the entire night, Jason couldn't tell, and he never managed to ask.

All he knew was that he was immensely glad they were here with him.

...

"Chuck, you can't just…" Nico tried to reason with the baby satyr, and Percy watched with a fond smile how his boyfriend tried to gently pry the spoon out of Chuck's hands so he could resume feeding him his early lunch.

Chuck had other plans though, throwing the spoon into Nico's face and laughing loudly (which reminded him _a lot_ of a goat's bleating and brought back memories of Grover), before hopping off his chair and bouncing off into the direction of his room.

"Chuck! Your food!" Nico called after him while wiping his face before giving chase, and Percy chuckled quietly and turned towards Jason, who was sitting next to him on the sofa and watched the scene with an equally amused expression.

It had been three days since the accident, but Will still insisted Jason had to take things slow, so he hadn't been allowed to do much the past days – and thus, neither had Percy, Nico and Will, because there was no way they'd leave Jason to himself.

Granted, they had still had to give some of their lessons, and Will had been in the infirmary for a few hours each day as well, but the other campers had been more than understanding of the situation, and not even Chiron had shown up to give them a lecture.

Apparently, even the centaur knew how severe the situation had been.

Seriously, though…

Percy studied Jason's face, the memory of the accident still haunting him as if it had happened moments ago.

Jason caught him looking and gave him a small smile, his hand moving to Percy's knee to give it a reassuring squeeze.

He was fine.

Percy smiled back at him, wishing he could will away the images, though Will had told him he needed more time.

Will told him that a lot.

Will also acted as if he was perfectly calm and collected, but Percy had heard him talking in his sleep about hematomas and possible surgeries in case something went wrong (more often than not crying in his sleep, too), so Percy knew he was just as affected as Nico and he were.

But Jason was doing great.

So great, he had declared this morning that he was bored beyond measure, just to proceed and suggest to Clarisse at breakfast that they'd watch over Chuck today for her.

"Will! Will, he doesn't want to eat his food, what do I _do_?" Nico called from the other room, and Will got up off the kitchen chair he had been dozing in, trudging off to Chuck's room with an ill-concealed yawn.

"I guess just play with him? Maybe he's not hungry. Yo, Chuck, why aren't you eating your food Nico made you? Ungrateful kid." They heard him saying, then Nico yelped loudly, followed by Will's groan, and Chuck came bouncing out of the room and back towards the living room.

"Good thing he doesn't have his horns yet." Will groaned as he and Nico came out of the room, both of them holding their lower stomachs with twisted looks on his face, and Percy shifted closer to Jason protectively, just in case.

But Chuck bounded past them and towards his box of toys, tearing it apart with happy bleating sounds and littering the ground with all his possessions.

"They grow so fast." Jason muttered in amazement, while Percy found himself smiling once more at the sight of both Will and Nico sitting down to Chuck's left and right to play with him.

"They do. I still want twenty." He mused, and Jason hummed in agreement, before suddenly stiffening.

"Wait, _no_. We're _not_ having twenty children, Percy."

Percy cackled quietly and gave him a wicked grin.

"Nah, you already agreed, I clearly heard that. It's a binding contract now, sweetest." He purred and bat his eyelashes at him, but Jason promptly stuck his tongue out at him.

"No way. I didn't sign anything, so nothing is binding."

"You signed the IPOD-contract." Percy reminded him cheekily, and Jason narrowed his eyes as he studied him.

"There wasn't anything about _children_ in the IPOD-contract, though."

"Not _yet_." Percy agreed, and Jason moved his hand to his face.

"Don't even think about it, Percy."

Percy gave him his best pout.

"But Jason, just _look at them_. They'd be so great with children."

He gestured towards their boyfriends for emphasis, who were holding up little statues and played out some sort of story for Chuck, who laughed along – just to then proceeded to tear down the statues with an inflated baseball bat.

(Definitely Coach Hedge's kid, alright.)

Jason smiled at the scene as well, then moved closer to wrap an arm around Percy and rest his chin on Percy's head, which would have usually made him complain.

In this case, he let him get away with it, though.

Especially when he heard Jason's hum of agreement.

They watched fondly as their boyfriends played with Chuck until he finally wanted to finish his meal, and by then, Jason and Percy could only exchange matching amused grins.

Then, Jason gave him a quick peck on the cheek and got up.

"Not twenty."

Percy wasn't deterred.

"Fifteen."

"Heck no."

"What are you talking about?" Nico asked curiously as Will took over the feeding duty and started moving it around like an airplane to keep Chuck's focus on it.

"Percy wants to-…" Jason started, but Percy was quick to slap his hand over Jason's mouth to keep him from giving him away.

Nico would _so_ declare that topic off-limits too if he knew.

"Nutrition plan." He blurted, and Will snorted out a small laugh as he shot him a look that said he knew exactly what they had been talking about.

"Yeah, Percy wants to eat fifteen vegetables at dinner." Will confirmed with a tone full of mirth, and Percy made a face.

 _Eww_.

Percy didn't even _know_ fifteen vegetables.

Now, it was Jason laughing, while Nico frowned at them with a confused expression.

But then, he seemed to drop the topic as he shrugged and turned back towards Chuck to stop him from trying to eat Nico's shirt instead of his food.

"Ten." He whispered to Jason as inconspicuously as he could, but Will still shot him a look that said he had heard.

"No chance." Jason replied, before ruffling through his hair and joining Will and Nico in their attempts of feeding Chuck.

"Damn it." Percy pouted, but then smiled when Chuck immediately gave Jason a big, overjoyed grin as Jason took over the spoon from Will – and lo and behold, Chuck even started eating properly, his eyes gazing at Jason in wonder and awe.

Babies were so adorable.

...

Babies, apparently, _loved glasses_.

At least Chuck did, which was why he was so fascinated with Jason, constantly making grabby hands and trying to tug the glasses off his nose, which never failed to make Nico laugh, though he tried to keep it down as best as he could for Jason's sake.

Now was one of Chuck's calmer phases, so they were huddled on the sofa together, with Chuck on Jason's lap and Nico next to him, while Percy and Will held up toys to their left and right and tried to work out a story together – which worked surprisingly well.

Chuck seemed to enjoy it, too, his focus constantly shifting from Percy to Will and back, just to then make grabby hands at Jason's glasses again or bleat at Nico.

"He has such cute, puffy legs." Percy cooed when the satyr laughed and let himself fall sideways into Nico's lap all of a sudden, and Percy promptly seized his chance to tickle said furry legs.

Percy was so smitten with Chuck, it was adorable.

Or maybe it was babies, in general.

Though Chuck had seriously grown _so fast_.

The last time they had been here, Nico had spent most of his time carrying Chuck on his hip – now, Chuck bounced around freely, kicking his goat legs and bleating at them and even attempting a word or two on occasion.

Unfortunately, he was also _a lot_ more active and demanded more entertainment than last time, where he had at least slept a good portion of the time.

He was also very skilled with headbutts to the stomach whenever he got bored or upset, as Nico had repeatedly found out the past hours.

At least Mellie had assured them he _probably_ wouldn't have a crying fit like last time anymore.

He watched with a smile as Percy kept tickling Chuck and narrowly avoided his kicks, just to then switch to poking Chuck's nose a couple of times to tease him and make him go cross-eyed before they both laughed/bleated.

So adorable.

"I wish I had my camera with me. Why do I never bring it?" He mumbled, more to himself than them, but Jason shot him an amused look immediately as he started helping Percy with his gentle tickling.

"Want to go and grab it? Mellie did say we can take him outside for a while if we want to." He suggested, and Will immediately jumped.

"That's a _great_ idea. Some fresh air would definitely be good for all of us. Jason, especially you."

Jason made a face, clearly unimpressed.

"There you go, Jason. Do as the doc says." Percy chimed in with a grin, then poked Chuck's nose again.

"You want to go outside? Yes? Outside into that cold and cruel world? What a brave little warrior you are." He cooed at the baby, and Nico watched both Will's and Jason's expressions turn fond almost immediately.

Percy was smitten with Chuck, and they were smitten with Percy.

"Percy, it's like 85 degrees outside, I'm pretty sure that's _not_ 'cold'. Also, don't scare him. He'll have to face that world sooner or later, you know?" Nico put in pointedly, but Percy merely shrugged and lifted Chuck off his lap to press him to his chest, even though Chuck had showed earlier he didn't like that anymore.

Or so Nico had thought, but now Chuck put his arms around Percy immediately and beamed at him brightly.

Traitorous children.

"You're only allowed to point out the heat when you want to take me swimming, Angel. And I'm not scaring him. Look, he's smiling. The world is bitter and cruel, and he better knows it upfront. My mom always told me to be honest, especially with my children." Percy replied and walked off with Chuck still in his arms, and Nico contemplated whether he should point out that Chuck was _not_ Percy's child.

"Well, in that case, you better also tell him about all the wonders and good stuff that happens in this bitter and cruel world, Percy. Give him something beautiful to focus on once he grows up." Will chimed in and hopped off the sofa to follow his boyfriend and help him into his shoes, while Jason chuckled and nudged Nico to come and follow.

Apparently, they were seriously going outside.

"Do you really think this is a good idea? What if Chuck runs off? Or if he gets hurt?" Nico asked Jason hesitantly as Will and Percy discussed all the things they'd have to tell and explain to Chuck, ranging from friends and family to politics and global warming.

Jason shot him a reassuring look.

"Don't worry. If he runs away, we'll simply have to follow, and if he gets hurt, we got a doctor who can patch him up immediately."

Nico wasn't convinced.

When he looked back at his boyfriends though, he found Will helping Percy to get Chuck onto Percy's shoulders, all three of them laughing, and he didn't have the heart to voice out any more worries.

"I guess so." He mumbled, and let Jason tug him with him towards the door, their fingers threading together.

"Outside we go." Percy called and opened the door, and Chuck let out a lout, elated sounding bleat.

" _Out_!" He copied Percy and threw his little hands up, and Nico and Jason shared a fond smile, while Will rushed to put his hand onto Chuck's back to make sure he didn't fall off, though Percy held his legs.

This was going to be fun.

...

They were like a little family.

Will watched fondly how Jason and Nico held onto Chuck's puny hands from left and right, gently swinging him between them whenever he let himself fall and his legs dangle.

Percy had his arm around Will, watching the scene with similar feelings flowing through him, though for once he didn't say anything.

They had already grabbed the camera from their cabin, but Chuck had been so fascinated with the Camp and all the people, they had given in and decided to show him around a bit more, much to the baby satyr's joy.

"We should totally take him to the lake. Come on, it's boiling hot, and he's wearing pants. He has _fur_ , Will, I bet he's uncomfortable." Percy reasoned, once more trying to get them to go swimming, but Will shook his head.

"Percy, those are diapers, not pants. He's fine. Plus, he's not even a complete toddler yet, don't overwhelm him with too much in one day."

"How can you _not_ be a complete toddler, Will. What is he, then? Half a toddler? Three quarters?" Percy argued, but Will merely tugged on his hand to bring it up to his lips and place a kiss on it, effectively shutting Percy up.

"How about you take him swimming once he's a bit older? Then the two of you can play in the water together and he can beat you at water polo and whatnot." He suggested, and Percy huffed as he tugged his hand back, though his lips quirked up a moment later.

"Eh, I guess. Though he'll only win because I let him."

Of course.

"You better. Now, take some pictures of our boyfriends being adorable, you dork." He urged when Nico and Jason lifted Chuck up by his hands and started swinging him back and forth carefully again, which not only looked adorable, but also had Chuck joyously bleating and laughing.

Percy rushed to get the camera on and working, grinning to himself as his eyes flickered from the screen to the scene and back.

"We're totally having kids someday, I swear." Percy mumbled, and Will gave a small nod.

The guys totally should.

They would be great parents, he just knew it.

Will's focus snapped to Jason, who was touching the side of his head again with his free hand, but he didn't seem in any discomfort or pain.

Or maybe he was?

Will frowned, trying to sneak closer even though he knew Jason would notice, but then the question answered itself when he noticed what Jason was looking at.

The climbing wall.

Well, at least the space where the climbing wall _had_ been, before Leo had pretty much torn down the entire thing and rebuilt it from scratch, together with most of the Ares and Hephaestus kids, Calypso and Annabeth.

Not for the first time, Will wondered why something always had to happen first before people decided to just _listen_.

Because he was still very much aware that Jason had warned them of this very thing happening if they didn't do some repairs on that wall.

Granted, nobody had thought it was that bad that it could cause a near-death experience quite like Jason's, but then again, nobody expected anything to result in something like that, except maybe monster attacks and playing with fire.

(And given that the Camp held Camp Fires every night, even that was a grey zone.)

Will sighed deeply and attached himself to Jason's free side, which left Percy to huff and take some more pictures behind him, and Jason to throw Will a knowing look.

At least he didn't argue or brush him off.

Will mused that as he scanned Jason's values for anything worrisome, but so far, his recovery surely had gone smoothly.

He was more than glad for it.

Back when Jason had kept waking up, Will had seriously panicked and thought he had messed up, consulting all the books he had read since the accident for anything he might have missed – and ordering new ones with the help of Nico's laptop and Hades' generous allowance that Will was still awed, yet also disturbed about.

He had read about anything and everything, checking Google, checking any and all videos he had managed to find, cursing their limited supply of medication and machinery, and wishing he could run some CT-scans on Jason, _just to make sure_.

But no such luxury and no peace of mind.

Jason had been able to eat and drink without issues and had slept peacefully after the first night, but Will had still worried about hematomas, hemorrhages, meningitis, _everything_ , checking on Jason every half an hour to make sure there was no fever, no headache, no pain, no neck stiffness, _nothing_.

Yes, he might be fussing, but his boyfriend had nearly died, and he was not over that yet.

Neither was Percy, but sadly Will couldn't find anything he could do about that, either.

He had tried talking about it with him, in the hope he might feel better if he let it all out, but it hadn't made much of a difference, and when Percy had asked him what to do, Will had been ashamed to have no answer, instead giving him the 'Just give it more time' excuse.

Will sighed and watched how Chuck tugged his hands free from Jason and Nico and started bouncing off, closely followed by Nico, who was exactly the worrywart Will had assumed him to be, while Percy told him to leave it and let Chuck make his own experiences.

Nico wasn't even done complaining about possible injuries when Chuck already toppled over his own hooves and tumbled sideways into a bush.

Jason snorted out a small laugh, watching together with Will how both Nico _and_ Percy immediately ran to check on the satyr.

"I told you this would happen!"

"You're such a pessimist, Nico!"

"Chuck, are you alright?"

"Oh please, he only fell- oh shit, I think he chafed his knee."

"Percy! Don't say that in front of him!"

"What? He's already crying and holding his knee, it's not like-…"

"I meant the swearing, you idiot!"

Will and Jason shot each other telling looks and caught up to them – and while Will went to inspect the wound on Chuck's leg (not even a real scratch, seriously), Jason rushed to stop the quarrel between their boyfriends.

"Does it hurt?" He asked Chuck as he inspected his knobby, furry knee, and Chuck made a miserable sound between a bleat and a sob, looking at him with tears spilling down his face.

He seemed more upset about the shock of falling than the fall itself, though.

"Want a band-aid? I have super pretty ones." Will offered and poked Chuck's nose as he moved his free hand to his medic pouch, searching through it for his pack of colored band-aids.

Chuck didn't seem to really understand him, but he did seem curious about what Will was doing, his eyes following the motions of his hand as his crying momentarily subsided.

"Here we go. Which one would you like?" Will asked as he tugged out the pack and opened it, holding out a few of the colored band-aids to Chuck, who immediately made grabby hands for his hand to inspect them closer, his eyes full of wonder.

Aww, so cute.

Will noticed the silence around him, but didn't look up at his boyfriends, instead waiting patiently for Chuck to make up his mind.

"Want the green one? With the little sheep on them?" He asked when Chuck pointed at it with one chubby finger, but then Chuck looked at him with big eyes and shook his head, pointing at the yellow one with cars, instead.

"That one?"

Chuck shook his head again, then pointed towards the red one.

Will started chuckling.

"You want them all, don't you?"

He made to take the first one, but then Chuck's eyes started watering again, clearly not understanding what Will was doing.

Will immediately moved to put a finger to Chuck's lips before he could cry.

"No crying. You'll get them. Here, let me put one on your hand, okay?" He offered, then put the yellow one on Chuck's chubby hand, which had him looking at it with wide eyes for a moment – before he looked back at the other ones in Will's hand and made a small whining sound.

"You'll get these, too." Will assured him and did just that, putting the red one on Chuck's other arm, then the blue one on his cheek.

The green one went on Chuck's left hoof, and the pink one on his diaper.

Chuck seemed beyond himself in joy, bleating again and biting his lip with his few teeth as he looked down at the assortment of colored band-aids on him.

"There we go. Aren't you all patched-up now?" Will cooed as he inspected his work, just as there was a flash next to him and he turned his head to shoot Nico a chiding look.

"Really?"

Nico lowered the camera, not looking sorry in the slightest.

"It was a perfect shot."

"I bet it was." Will remarked, then grinned and got up, while Chuck tugged on Jason's shirt to get him to look at his band-aids, too.

"Very pretty. Do you feel better now?" Jason asked softly, looking a bit helpless, though he managed just fine in Will's opinion.

Chuck didn't understand him, but bleated happily, anyways, then he showed off to Percy, holding his hand in his face and lifting his hoof for Percy to see it properly.

"Aww, that looks very well done. So colorful, too. Do you think I can have one, too?" Percy asked, but when he poked at one of the bad-aids, Chuck instantly pulled away and shook his head wildly, bleating in accusation and hiding behind Jason.

"Percy, don't take his band-aids." Nico chided, while Will snorted and moved to Percy, blue band-aid at the ready.

"Here you go, now you two can go in partner-look." He joked as he put the band-aid on Percy's cheek, and Chuck laughed in apparent agreement, his hand on his own cheek immediately as if he knew they matched.

Kids surely were adorable.

Percy looked horribly smug, grinning from ear to ear and holding out a hand to Chuck for a high-five – just to realize Chuck didn't seem to know that yet, so he promptly rushed to 'educate' him on that.

Will snorted out another laugh and nodded to Nico to take pictures.

"Do you think we can have him eat with us? Or should we head back?" Jason asked when Will moved to his side and he shrugged, inwardly just glad Jason hadn't asked for a band-aid, too.

"It's worth a try, I guess. Though after lunch we should definitely head back, so we're back before Mellie comes home and worries." He replied, partly relieved and partly disappointed their babysitting would be over so soon again.

Disappointed, because it was actually quite funny.

Relieved, because that meant he could usher Jason back into bed and make sure he had enough rest and peace.

"Fuck."

Jason and Will both stopped in their tracks, looking around at their boyfriends in accusation, but Percy and Nico looked back at them with wide eyes full of horror, and their gazes moved down to Chuck, who looked up at them with a wide grin and his eyes sparkling proudly.

" _Fuck_." He repeated, loud and clear, and Nico slapped his hand to his mouth in absolute horror.

"Oh no…"

"Who said it? It wasn't me!" Percy insisted, while Jason groaned loudly.

"Seriously? Mellie will be _upset_ , guys."

"It wasn't me!" Percy argued, though he looked incredibly guilty, and the look Nico shot him also indicated they had their culprit.

"Chuck, that's a _bad_ word. We don't use that word, okay?" Will tried to diffuse the situation, but Chuck merely frowned at him as he crouched in front of him.

"Fuck?" He asked, clearly waiting for praise or any sort of positive feedback, and tilting his head when he didn't receive any.

"How about you say 'duck' instead? They're these birds. Big, bad birds. Almost as bad as geese. Do you know geese? Can you say that? Goose? Duck?" He tried tentatively, but Chuck's frown merely deepened.

"Fuck." He said resolutely, then pointed up at Percy.

Nico buried his face in his hands, while Percy let out a small, pathetic wail.

"I'm so sorry! It slipped out, okay?"

Jason was rubbing his temples, which gave Will a bitter taste in his mouth, but he pushed down his concerns momentarily as he sighed and pointed to his own chest.

"Can you say my name? Can you say 'Will'?"

"Will." Chuck copied him, dragging out the 'i' a little, but that only reminded him of Nico, who liked to do that whenever he slipped into Italian.

Will nodded and made to praise Chuck excessively, hoping to get him to rather say that than anything else.

He pointed to Jason, then Nico and Percy, trying to animate Chuck to say their names, too.

It even worked – until he got to Percy, because Chuck took one look at him, beamed brightly, then looked Will straight in the face and said 'Fuck!'.

Great.

"Percy, why?" Nico groaned, while Percy whined and hid his face at Jason's arm in shame, and Jason patted his back in consolation as he gave Will that pleading 'Please fix this somehow'-look that made Will wish he knew how.

"Well…at least he's not cussing anybody out, I guess?" He tried for positivity, but his boyfriends didn't seem convinced.

"We can't have him running around saying _that_!" Nico insisted in a nearly scandalized voice, while Percy wailed into Jason's shoulder.

"Clarisse is going to skin me alive!"

"She won't do any such thing, Percy. We'll just have to teach him enough other words and show him how much better it is to say those, instead. Hey, Chuck, do you know of the gods yet?" Will reasoned and turned back to Chuck, who had his fingers in his mouth and was watching them with a small frown, as if trying to follow their conversation.

Will tugged his hand out of his mouth and gave him his pacifier, but Chuck spit that out almost immediately again and pointed an accusing finger at him.

" _Will_!" He bleated, and Will held up his arms in surrender, though he wasn't quite sure what evil misdeed he had done.

"Yes?"

"Jason!" He exclaimed next, pointing towards Jason, who seemed a bit taken aback at being addressed correctly, though he smiled tentatively and nodded.

Chuck looked at Nico next, and Will could see the hopeful look in Nico's eyes, though he could also see the frown on Chuck's face as he tried to remember his name.

"Mama?"

Will and Jason snorted out matching laugh while Percy started wheezing next to them, and Nico looked both affronted and bewildered.

"Do I _look_ like your mother?" He asked in confusion as he looked around, apparently thinking Mellie might be anywhere close by, but no such thing.

Chuck looked confused at their reactions.

Then he started tearing up and Will and Nico rushed to assure him.

" _But_ your mother will be back soon, Chuck. She'll be so happy to see you!"

"You can call me anything you want, Chuck. Whatever makes you happy."

"Aww, you two would be so great with children." Percy cooed, and they both shot him dark looks.

"You better be quiet, swearword-teacher." Nico grumbled, and Will gave a nod in agreement.

"It was an accident!" Percy wailed and ran to Jason for comfort, who pinched the bridge of his nose but immediately wrapped an arm around Percy, anyways.

"We should go eat and head back, before Chuck learns anymore bad words." Jason reasoned, and Percy promptly wailed louder.

"Hey! It's not like I taught him that on purpose!"

Yes, they should definitely go.

"Alright, Chuck, how about we go and grab something to eat? Are you hungry?" Will asked the satyr with a little nudge, and Chuck tore his gaze away from Percy and Jason to look at him with big, round eyes.

Will tried to give him his pacifier again, and this time he took it, his eyes now moving to Nico, who took his other hand and smiled down at him, clearly tempted to pick him up again.

Yes, Nico would _definitely_ be that sort of parent that never put their kid down.

Will wished he could live to see that.

As it was, he merely hoped _they_ would live to see that.

They started walking, but then Chuck started whining, making grabby hands at Nico and looking at them so accusingly again.

"Maybe he wants to be carried?" Jason mused, but Will frowned.

"Or he wants a piggyback-ride."

"Oh! Take me! Take me! Chuck, want to go on my back? Yes?" Percy instantly exclaimed, hopping up and down hopefully before crouching down in front of Chuck, who seemed slightly taken aback at all the euphoria and stumbled backwards to hide behind Nico's leg, his face still scrunched up in a frown.

Percy promptly pouted and put on his best baby seal face.

Chuck didn't seem very moved by it, his frown only deepening as his pacifier moved feverishly.

Will reached out a hand for him, gently taking him closer to Percy.

"Want a piggyback-ride, Chuck? Percy is _great_ for that. Come on, I'll help you up, okay? Just like we did earlier, when you were on Percy's shoulders." He explained, and Chuck went with him, his frown only slowly fading, before he seemed to grin behind his pacifier again and made grabby hands at Percy.

"There we go. Come on, up you go." Will said softly and helped getting Chuck onto his back, and Percy seemed utterly thrilled, grinning from ear to ear and looking smug and happy.

So adorable.

Will glanced around, just to find Nico and Jason with their heads together and the camera up for more pictures, both of them watching fondly.

Will stuck his tongue out at them, then followed Percy, who was making a rather impressive assortment of animal and machinery noises as he stalked off towards the dining pavilion proudly, with Chuck on his back and his little fists up in the air as he bleated in apparent encouragement.

So adorable.

Both of them.

...

"You're so… _stiff_." Nico chided – and if he hadn't been so upset about it, he'd have probably been awed a back could feel this stiff.

Will huffed in reply and stretched out further beneath him, clearly enjoying Nico's sorry excuse of a massage.

"You know, you're the one always telling us to take good care of our health, but you're not even following your own advice. Shame on you." Nico continued ranting, but Will merely sighed happily and shivered as Nico kneaded along his shoulder blades.

"Are you even listening?" He asked doubtfully, but Will only hummed and buried his face at his arms, so Nico was pretty sure he didn't care for Nico's words of wisdom.

Scandalous.

Well, _fine_.

"You know…" Nico started, his voice soft and quiet as his gaze hushed over all those freckles on Will's back alone.

"I still want to count your freckles." He mused, not surprised when Will merely hummed in reply.

"I keep thinking about that whenever we make out." He admitted, though Will gave no indication he had heard.

"Yeah, it's quite embarrassing, isn't it? But somehow, every time I kiss down your body, I just get this urge to kiss every single one of them." Nico said good-naturedly, as if talking about the weather.

Will's skin turned warmer under his hands, and Nico smirked to himself.

Ah, he had Will's attention.

"Then again, now that I think about it…I could do that now, couldn't I? Count your freckles and kiss them while I'm at it?" He suggested – and promptly felt Will shiver beneath him on the bed, though it certainly wasn't cold.

"Would you like that? We probably won't be done until Percy and Jason come back though." He pointed out, glad Jason and Percy were bringing Chuck back to Mellie and Coach Hedge, though he also wished they were here so they could help him to get Will to unwind a little.

Will shifted beneath him, and Nico's smirk widened as he leaned over him, beginning to tap at random freckles on his back.

"Hmm…where would I start…? I think…" He mused, stroking over his skin with one finger, before settling on a single freckle on the back of Will's neck.

"Here." He tapped on said freckle – and Will shivered again and drew his shoulders up slightly, his head turning to the side so he could look up at Nico with those bright blue eyes of his, full of surprise, bewilderment and curiosity.

"Would you like that?" Nico asked innocently, though his heart was beating wildly in his chest.

Sure, he had started speaking up more, and ever since that night on the rooftop his guys had been more attentive than ever when it came to anything desire-related, but this was a whole different thing altogether – in his opinion, anyways.

"I…you…if you want." Will tried to sound unbothered, but with his stammering and the way he turned his face away instantly again, Nico was proud to realize Will seemed as into the idea as Nico was.

Not one to waste such a perfect opportunity, Nico grinned and leaned down to place a small peck on the freckle he had chosen as his first.

"One."

Will shivered, then buried his face back in his arms and let Nico do as he pleased.

Perfect.

Nico would make sure he didn't regret it.

.

He breached the hundred before he even reached Will's lower back, and by the time he got Will to turn around and sit up to get better access to his front and stomach, he mostly made up numbers at random, though his boyfriend didn't seem to notice or care.

It was simply too difficult to concentrate when Will's skin felt so soft and warm under his lips and Will was panting so lovely.

Plus, he somehow couldn't get his hands to stop touching Will, it was like an urge he couldn't suppress.

Nico was about to throw all counting to the wind and ravish his boyfriend – when there was a ruckus at the door and their boyfriends walked in, talking amiably until they laid eyes on Will and Nico on the bed, with Will sitting with his back against the wall and his legs spread, and Nico between said legs and moving his lips undeterredly along Will's abdomen.

"Two-hundred-thirty-five." He mumbled, though he was pretty sure he already had to be past the three-hundred mark by now.

Who had so many freckles?

…Will did, clearly.

The door closed and a lock turned, and Nico smirked against Will's skin when he heard two sets of footsteps hurrying across the room towards them.

"And what are you two beauties doing?" Percy purred as he climbed onto the bed, closely followed by Jason, who seemed a tad more hesitant, watching and probably waiting for a sign whether Nico and Will wanted their peace from them or whether it was okay to join in.

"I'm counting his freckles. Want to help?" He asked and licked over the next freckle he found, which had Will letting out a small gasp and shiver again.

He seemed to really have a sensitive stomach? Nico had never noticed before, but he certainly gasped _a lot_ more now that Nico kissed along his lower stomach, compared to his reactions when Nico had teased along his back and chest.

"Now _that_ sounds like a great idea. You know, we should- _oomph_!" Whatever Percy had wanted to say was lost as Will's hands shot up and cupped Percy's face to draw him into a sudden and desperate kiss, and Nico grinned up at them for a moment before returning to his task to not lose his count.

Sure, he might have already lost it by now, but with some math and good guessing, he was sure he'd manage.

Nico placed more kisses along Will's lower stomach, ignoring the bulge in his boxer shorts even when Will rather blatantly tried to get Nico's hands to have mercy.

He had plans for that.

"Did you already count those on his back?" Jason asked as he moved to get behind Will, who rushed to accommodate him and urged Nico to pull back momentarily.

"I did, but feel free to do a recount. We can compare later."

As if he was going to remember that later.

"In that case, I'm totally counting those on his face."

"No, you won't. You're here to kiss me senseless, Gorgeous." Will cut in, his voice raspy and needy, and Nico snickered to himself as he crawled back closer and dragged his lips and tongue over three or four more freckles.

"How about I kiss you for each freckle I find?" Percy suggested quickly when he managed to pull back from Will for long enough, and their boyfriend let out a small groan and pulled him back in.

"What is it with you guys and my freckles?" He croaked, but they all knew he loved the attention and their ministrations, so Nico returned to counting, while Jason started along Will's shoulder blades, whispering numbers and placing timid kisses on his skin, just like Nico had in the beginning.

Percy tried and failed to pull away from Will, so he changed plans to instead give Will a kiss for each freckle _they_ found, rather than bothering with counting, himself.

Will seemed perfectly pleased by that.

Though he still tried to get Nico's hands on his dick, but Nico very cruelly skipped that area in favor of his thighs, luring a complainant grumble out of his boyfriend that he also ignored.

"Nico!" Will drawled out his name, and Nico smirked against his skin as he placed more innocent kisses on his freckles and said random numbers.

"My name is Percy." Percy corrected Will cheekily and pecked him on the lips again.

"No…yes…but…I…he… _ugh_!"

Percy hummed and pulled Will back in for more kisses, while Jason let out a small chuckle and started kissing along the shell of his ear.

The next moment, Will was _moaning_ , his entire body stiffening and trembling while Nico could see his dick twitching in his boxer shorts.

Will and his sensitive ears.

Nico contemplated his options for a moment, then started tugging on Will's waistband tentatively to signal he wanted them off – and Will reacted immediately, huffing in that annoyed yet relieved way, as if he was glad Nico finally got the hint, but also upset because it had taken him this long.

Nico helped to get the boxer shorts over his legs and off, then he crawled back closer, grinning to himself when Will attempted to practically wrap his legs around Jason's to keep them spread enough for Nico to settle down between them comfortably.

"Would you look at that, you have such pretty freckles here, too." He purred as he tapped at his three favorite freckles that were huddled together at the base of Will's dick, and his boyfriend both shivered and groaned in apparent exasperation and pleasure.

"Nico! Guys! Ugh, cut it out with the counting, you're horribly off, anyways. I do _not_ have 361 freckles, you're delirious." Will complained, and Percy and Jason chuckled, while Nico huffed indignantly and placed three small pecks to the freckles, making Will groan and his dick twitch.

"You're absolutely right. You _clearly_ have _364_. These three beauties here are not to be forgotten, after all."

Will groaned, though whether that was out of exasperation or pleasure, Nico couldn't tell.

Instead, he continued counting loudly and undoubtedly wrongly as he tried to find any and all of Will's freckles, at long last stopping at the tip of his dick.

The lonely freckle there was one of his favorites, too.

Nico glanced up at his boyfriends for a moment, catching sight of Percy still tonguing Will and Jason still ravishing his ear, everything else apparently forgotten – then he smirked and leaned down to tease that single freckle with his tongue.

Will broke away from both Jason and Percy with a small cry, his hands shoving down between their bodies to grab hold of Nico's hair and keep him there, though Nico didn't mind.

He took his time tracing along Will's glans with the tip of his tongue, then ever so slowly wrapped his lips around it to give a little suck, pleased when Will let out a breathy moan and pre-cum spilled on his tongue.

"Can I help? _Please_ let me help." Percy breathed somewhere next to him, and Nico made a faint gesture with his hand that hopefully conveyed his 'Go ahead'.

Percy's hand squished itself between Nico and Will to stroke from his dick to his balls, and when Nico made it clear he wanted to continue his blowjob, they stayed there, allowing him to stroke Will and bob his head up and down without interference, while Percy still managed to drive Will crazy.

Will was panting heavily, his chest rising and falling as his skin grew scalding hot, his eyes closed and his head tipped back to rest against Jason behind him, who was kissing along his neck now and stroked over his sides soothingly, while Percy was watching Will's face intently and stole kisses whenever Will tried to open his eyes.

It reminded Nico so much of their first time together, when he had been in Will's position – a memory that made his skin tingle and had him hoping they would do this more often.

Percy would love that.

And Jason would be absolutely floored by all the love and attention.

Nico smirked to himself and gave Will's dick another tentative suck, before moving down further at the insistent tugs and nudges of Will's hands in his hair.

Will let out a loud, needy whine, and Percy groaned in response, shifting closer automatically, though that made everybody else move, too.

Nico glanced up again, catching sight of Percy trembling almost as badly as Will.

"Percy, switch with me?" He offered as he pulled off Will's dick, which led to Percy all but falling over himself to rush to take his spot, while Will let out a despairing wail and shifted to get his own hands down on his dick.

He needn't have worried though, because Percy was there a moment later, practically throwing himself between Will's legs to get his lips around his dick.

Seriously, Percy was so into blowjobs, it was amazing.

Nico grinned as he crawled to Percy's earlier spot and tapped Will on the shoulder, who was gasping and groaning and digging his hands into Percy's hair, who moaned in apparent enjoyment.

At his tapping, Will immediately turned his head, gazing at him with dark eyes full of lust and wonder, his lips finding Nico's as if pulled by an invisible force.

"I think I lost count." He whispered against Will's lips, and his boyfriend squinted at him with an expression that indicated he was trying to think of something smart to say, but then he merely let his head fall back against Jason and let out another loud groan, his hips thrusting upwards against Percy, who let out a small, pleased sound in reply.

"Jason!" Will suddenly gasped against Nico's lips, so Nico peeked at whatever it was Jason was doing, just to find him ravishing Will's ear again.

"Yes?" Their boyfriend asked innocently, nosing at the shell of his ear and placing timid pecks behind it, but the moment his eyes met Nico's, he winked at him, showing he knew full well what he was doing.

 _Of course_ they knew what they were doing.

Will let out a garbled mess of words Nico couldn't make out, then he groaned and started alternating between pushing against Percy – and pushing back against Jason behind him.

"I think he wants you to touch him, Jason." Nico said quietly as he moved to press his lips against Will's cheek, then his jaw, then his ear, and then Will was cursing him for teasing him like this, while Jason got away with teasing his other ear just fine.

Rude.

Nico was about to complain, when Will suddenly jolted and his arms shot up and around Nico's neck with a loud gasp.

"Color?" Jason asked worriedly from behind, but Will promptly shook his head.

"Green. Just…surprised."

Oh, so Jason had started _touching_ him, huh?

"You got lube?" He asked Jason as he started dragging his lips along the side of Will's neck to his collarbone and nudged him back into Jason's arms, who gave a small nod and lifted the bottle of lube Nico had accidentally lost after that one time he and Jason had teased their boyfriend, just to fall asleep.

(Bless Will for saving them that time, seriously.)

"Be gentle." Percy piped up beneath them, his voice wonderfully raspy, and both of them looked down at him while Will pointedly ignored their conversation and moaned feebly to get Percy back to his blowjob.

Jason gave a nod to show he had heard, but Percy made to move his arms around Will's hips anyways, his hands trying to show Jason what to do as he tried his best to still focus on giving a decent blowjob.

Will still whined though, so Nico decided to help out by distracting their boyfriend with an open-mouthed, wet and messy kiss that promptly got him all of Will's attention, his nails digging into Nico's shoulder blades slightly.

"Color?" Nico breathed against his lips when he heard Jason's and Percy's whispered conversation and felt Will shudder, but his boyfriend only let out a wistful moan and rocked his hips back.

"Green. I'll tell you if it changes."

He better.

"I know you will." Nico whispered and drew him into another kiss, even if Will's trembling and gasping made it rather difficult to keep their lips together properly.

Then Will started jumping and jolting and his gasps turned into moans, and Nico knew even without the rhythmic movements of Jason's arm what was happening right there.

"You like that?" He asked, mainly to not ask for the color again, and Will let out a breathy laugh before burying his face at the side of Nico's neck and moaning against his skin loudly, his hips rocking back and forth sharply as both Jason and Percy made sure to please him.

"More?" Percy asked between them, and Nico looked down to catch him glancing up, his tongue already back on Will's dick to tease his glans again, much to Will's apparent dismay _and_ delight.

"N-No…'s good like this…" Will breathed between moans, his voice not only making Nico shiver pleasantly.

Gods, he loved his voice – not to mention his flushed face and his glowing freckles.

"I can't believe you're seriously doing this…" Will whispered, then let out another loud gasp, quickly followed by an even louder moan and a jolt of his body, one hand rushing down to bury itself in Percy's hair again, while the other clutched Nico tightly.

"What? Making you feel good?" Nico asked with a hint of amusement, knowing full well what Will was talking about, since he had been in the very same situation before, as well.

"Wouldn't you rather-…"

"Nope." The three of them replied immediately, exchanging knowing looks before returning to their tasks, and Will let out the hint of a laugh as he tugged Nico back closer to bring their lips together – even though he was the one constantly breaking away again.

Nico could see Jason's arm picking up speed gradually and grinned to himself when Will's twitching and jolting picked up in frequency as well – as did his noises, much to Nico's delight.

Then, Jason and Percy exchanged that _look_ , and Nico grinned to himself as his boyfriends started to sync their movements better, which had Will arching his back and his hands flying around in desperate search for what to best hold onto, finally settling for burying one in Nico's hair and one in Percy's once more, his entire body shaking.

"G-Guys…" He gasped out in apparent warning, and Nico glanced at Jason, who gave him a small nod.

Leaning forward, Nico placed gentle kisses along Will's ear.

"You sound so amazing when you're about to come." He whispered, and Will made a small whimpering sound as his body seemed to draw together momentarily.

Then, Nico tugged on his earlobe and Will was falling apart, a shaky cry escaping his lips and his foot kicking air, while Percy let out an appreciative hum beneath them that made Will jolt even worse than before.

Nico held him, same as Jason steadied him as best as he could, both of them waiting patiently for Will to get his bearings again, nuzzling their faces against him and whispering praise and reassurances.

Percy pulled away from Will's softening dick, looking immensely pleased with himself as he grinned at them cheekily and wiped his mouth on the hem of his shirt.

"That was fun."

Nico absolutely agreed.

"You guys are freaking…unbelievable sometimes. Fuck, I needed that." Will mumbled between them weakly, and Nico felt a sense of pride rushing through him as his gaze met Jason's, his eyes gleaming just like Nico knew his own did.

"Only sometimes? Guess I gotta step up my game then." Percy retorted playfully and started smooching Will's face, so Nico pulled back a little to give him more space.

"Don't even try, you dork." Will replied with a faint smile on his lips, his eyes still closed as he tried to snuggle against all three of them at the same time, which obviously didn't work out, though he still sighed contently.

He looked so at peace.

 _Finally_.

"You know, you could have always told us you needed us to ravish you." Percy mused as he studied their boyfriend as well, but Will only gave a faint shake of his head and allowed Jason to tug him along with him so the four of them could lay down together for a bit.

"I didn't know. Sex didn't really cross my mind the past days, so I wasn't exactly craving it."

Nico was pretty sure sex hadn't been on any of their minds ever since Jason's accident, to be honest.

With all the worrying and healing and Will's frantic reading of any and all books he had laid hands on, not even Nico had felt up for anything.

"Makes sense. But this was good, right? You liked it?" Percy asked, a hint of concern in his voice, but Will was quick to give him a series of pecks as he rushed to reassure him.

"Of course. It was great. Can only recommend." Will mumbled with a thumbs-up, then he let out another content sigh.

 _Somebody_ had definitely needed that.

Nico was pretty proud of himself for having noticed first.

"Well, that's perfect, then. I lost count, so we'll definitely have to repeat that sometime." He put in, and now Will did open his eyes a little to squint at him, though they all knew he would be the last to complain.

"Do as you wish, sweetheart. I still can't believe you guys didn't…well…" Will trailed off, and Nico saw both Percy and Jason shift slightly.

"We wanted to make _you_ feel good. Plus, I have no idea whether Jason is fit enough for any action again. Wouldn't want to overdo it, would we now?" Percy retorted, and Nico had to bite his lip at the incredulous look Jason shot him.

Jason, no…

"Excuse you, I am perfectly fit for _any_ sort of action!"

Ah, he had taken the bite.

There went the peaceful and tranquil mood – all lost because of unresolved sexual tension once more.

Nico snickered into his hand as he watched Percy and Jason sizing each other up with challenging looks, while Will rolled his eyes between them and seemed to know the same thing Nico did.

"Yeah, yeah. To be honest, I think Jason should be okay. His recovery has gone very smoothly, and a bit of lust-induced light-headedness shouldn't change that. So, Percy, if you want to seduce Jason, now would be the perfect time."

Was Will trying to set them up?

Percy's eyes widened and his face flushed crimson, while Jason's eyebrows shot up and his eyes gleamed.

Yep, he was definitely setting them up.

Which…gave Nico an idea.

"Hey Will?" He asked nervously, licking his lips as he shifted closer, and instantly had all of Will's attention.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Will asked with a hint of mirth in his voice, and Nico immediately sulked and flicked his forehead.

How rude, he hadn't even asked yet!

"Well, you just ruined it." He grumbled, and Will promptly let out a small wail and tried to get closer to him, trying to regain his affections by nuzzling his face against Nico's throat.

Percy and Jason were still sizing each other up, though they also glanced at them curiously out of the corners of their eyes.

"Why is it you two keep going on dates and nobody is asking me out?" Percy asked with a hint of accusation, but while Nico sputtered, Will remained perfectly collected.

"Because you and Jason are going to have a date in here while we're gone, that's why. Plus, if you had paid attention, you'd have noticed Jason has been trying to ask you out the past days already, constantly suggesting you two do something _alone_." He deadpanned, and now Jason was the flustered one that looked anywhere but at Percy, while Percy shot him a cocky, teasing grin and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh _really_?"

"So, if I asked you out on a date, you'd say yes?" Nico summed up after clearing his throat pointedly, trying to regain his composure.

Will's heavy-lidded eyes and his crooked grin made that nearly impossible though, especially when he leaned closer, their faces inches apart once more.

"Nico, I'd do much more than just say yes, trust me." He purred, and Nico shivered, wondering faintly whether it was really a smart idea to _leave this cabin_ , when it was evident he was more than interested in _more_ than just a date.

"Go on a date with me?" He asked, anyways, and Will's grin widened as he started giving him a series of rather innocent but _very_ nice pecks.

"I'd love to."

Was that a yes?

"That's a yes." Will affirmed even though Nico hadn't asked, and they both grinned at each other stupidly.

Then, Will cleared his throat and made to get up.

"Jason, Percy, let me go, I gotta get dressed. I'm going on a date!" He told them with much more excitement in his voice than Nico had expected, though that only made him even giddier as he also struggled to get up and out of the bed.

"Reminds me of that one movie where the little guy goes all 'I'm going on an adventure'." Percy remarked with his grin audible in his voice and Nico shot him a dark look over his shoulder, though Will seemed unfazed as he slipped into a new set of clothing, just to disappear to the other corner of the room to fetch Nico's laptop for reasons unknown to Nico.

Percy seemed to know what that was about, though, if his sudden sputtering and the way he sat bolt upright in bed an instant later were anything to go by.

"Will! No, it's not…that's…he…"

"Nonsense. He'll love it." Will cut in smoothly and placed the laptop on Nico's small table, clicking around on the screen while also slipping into his shoes.

Nico glanced at the laptop.

Music…?

"Where are we going, love?" Will asked him sweetly, and Nico was about to reply, when he grinned instead and held out a hand.

"That will be a secret until we get there."

Will's eyes sparkled and the giddy smile was back, then he shot Percy a teasing look.

"Well, we'll be gone then, sweethearts. Take care." He called sweetly and winked at a flustered looking Percy and a confused looking Jason – before he pressed _Play_ on the playlist he had opened and tugged Nico with him out of the cabin with a small laugh.

"What did you do?" Nico asked him skeptically as Will started snickering the moment the door was closed, and Will shook his head for a moment as he tried to get his bearings.

"You remember when we were in the Underworld and Jason mentioned that one song he'd undress Percy to?" He asked, and it took Nico a moment to remember what he was talking about – mostly because that sounded like something they'd say once they were _dating_ , not something they'd say a long time _before_ then.

But then, it clicked.

"You didn't." He whispered, looking back at the door behind them, and Will started snickering again, his eyes full of glee.

"I _did_. I got the song and a few others and made the _perfect_ playlist. First, I wanted to just suggest the idea to Percy and let him do it, himself, but then I figured he'd take forever because he gets so adorably flustered when it's about Jason, so I decided to speed things up a bit." Will explained, sounding absolutely smug, and Nico shook his head.

"You are a genius." He said quietly, and Will started glowing a little with pride.

"You think so? Wait until we're back and they're still all over each other. Ten bucks that it will be Jason begging for more this time and Percy being the reasonable one."

"I'm never betting with you again, sunshine. Forget it." Nico retorted with a grin as his hand clasped Will's a little tighter and he led him down the front steps of their cabin, leading the way for their little date to start.

"Aww, you know you want to, babe. So, where are we going?"

"I told you that's a secret." Nico reminded him, though he knew Will knew that just fine.

His boyfriend bit his bottom lip and looked at him innocently through his eyelashes.

"Not even a hint?"

"Seducing me won't work, sole mio." Nico replied, though he knew it _would_ work.

"Aww. Well, in that case…" Will started, then leaned closer to bring his lips closer to Nico's ear, and Nico stumbled slightly in his step.

"Make sure we're somewhere _private_ , okay? I'd like to say thanks for earlier." Will whispered with a purr, and it was only now that Nico noticed Will's pupils were still wonderfully dilated, his expression and voice promising only the best.

Oh.

Oh gods.

Nico stumbled over his own feet again, his face growing hot.

"R-Right. You'll see when we get there."

Will merely grinned and gave his hand a little tug, obviously knowing full well what images he was putting into Nico's head.

This was going to be one… _interesting_ …date.

...

"Is that…"

"Shush." Percy cut in, but Jason didn't seem deterred.

"But that's…" He started again, but Percy put his hand over Jason's mouth.

"No. Coincidence. Nothing but coincidence."

Jason licked his hand and Percy pulled it back with a startled 'Eww!'.

"Really, Jason?!" He asked disgruntled as he wiped his hand on the sheets and made to look back at his boyfriend – but then said boyfriend already had him pinned to the bed, and all Percy could do was wail.

"Percy, that's _our_ song."

That was _not_ 'their' song.

That was a song Jason might or might not have mentioned before, but that had been in passing, in a completely different context, they hadn't even been dating, that did _not_ count…

"Maybe." He admitted weakly, not meeting Jason's eyes, but Jason once more wasn't deterred, instead bringing his face cruelly close to Percy's.

"Why is it playing?"

Because Will was a dick?

Because Will had made a certain playlist – and Percy hadn't had the heart to delete it?

"I might have mentioned to Will, that…" He started mumbling, then trailed off into an indistinguishable garble of words he knew not even Jason would be able to make out.

"You mentioned to Will that you what?" Jason pried patiently, while Percy heard the song fading out with mixed feelings of relief and disappointment.

Then, it started playing again, and he groaned and slapped his hands over his face.

"I might have gone to him for a bit of… _advice_."

"Advice on what? Confusing me? He left putting on a song I said I wanted to undress you to, and you're sitting there like a lamb about to be thrown to the wolves. I'm getting mixed signals here, Percy." Jason stated, and Percy groaned again, shifting beneath Jason as he felt this was _horribly_ awkward.

Will had an absolutely _horrible_ timing, let it be known.

"I wanted to do something. For you. Like, something _sappy_ , okay? I don't know, I thought it would be nice. So, I mentioned that to him, and he was of course all for it, though he also said if I wanted slow and sensual sex, I should just _ask_ you – even though that was _not at all_ what I was after, Jason!"

He…probably shouldn't have mentioned that at all.

Oops.

Jason stilled on top of him, eyes boring into Percy's.

Percy closed his fingers again to cover his face once more.

"We threw some ideas back and forth, but nothing stuck. And the next thing I know, he made a…well…a _playlist_. With…that song. And a few others. For…us." He mumbled feebly, and Jason sat up on top of him, though he didn't say anything for a long moment.

Percy waited ever so patiently, then he couldn't help it anymore and peeked through his fingers again – just to catch Jason trying faintly to hide a broad grin behind one hand.

"Why are you _grinning_ , Jason! How _dare_ you!" Percy cried indignantly and grabbed the first thing he found – in this case Mrs. O'Leary Jr. – to chuck it at his boyfriend, but Jason caught it and tossed it aside without as much as a blink of his eye, before he had his hands back on Percy's shoulders and his lips pressing against his, letting him _feel_ that grin.

"So, you hoped to seduce me with music, hmm?" He hummed, and Percy could feel the goosebumps appearing on his skin immediately as he shifted beneath Jason again, trying to sound indignant.

"Will did! I didn't…I would never…as if _I_ needed _music_ to…I mean…"

 _Why was he stammering at a time like this_?!

Jason snickered on top of him, then brought their lips together again, his hands moving to cup his cheeks, before stroking along his neck, then back over his chest.

"True, I'd ravish you with or without music. But it's a very nice thought. Also, I've never had sex to music before, so I'm definitely intrigued." Jason's voice was a low rumble, alluring in ways a voice _shouldn't_ _be allowed to be_.

His shiver in response of course wasn't lost to Jason, whose smile looked predatory and promising, and Percy couldn't help but shiver again and again as said smile came closer and closer.

"So, what were you saying about slow and sensual sex…?" Jason asked ever so innocently, and Percy was already closing his eyes and tilting his head back to get a better angle for a kiss – before Jason's words made sense to him and he let out a groan and a sputter of incoherent words.

But then Jason was already kissing him, and their arms wrapped around each other automatically, and the song was just starting up _again_ …and maybe, just maybe, Will's timing hadn't been all _that_ bad.

"Make sure to take it slow, Sparky." He whispered, and Jason bit his collarbone in response.

"Just for that, I'm gonna make you scream my name."

"How does that fit in with slow and sensual?" Percy teased, though he moaned a moment later.

"We'll find a way."

They probably would.

That was one _damn good_ song though.

He'd have to thank Will later.

.

"We should do that more often." Jason purred, all content and happy, while Percy was still panting and trying to catch his breath, the song fading out for another, much slower one, as if Will had just _known_ when they'd finish and needed something calm and soothing to get them down from their high.

Since it was Will, Percy wouldn't put it past him to _seriously_ know.

"Percy? Are you still alive? Come on, this wasn't even anywhere near our normal pace or intensity." Jason pointed out as he nuzzled his face against Percy's neck, his arms wrapping tightly around Percy to tug him back against his broad and still rather sweaty chest, though Percy didn't mind one bit.

"'m perfectly alright. No clue what you're talking about. I could do twenty rounds of that, no problem." He retorted, though he absolutely didn't mean it, because _damn_.

Let it be known, sex to music was both amazing and _pretty freaking_ _difficult_ , at least if one tried not to get carried away too much.

(Needless to say, they had gotten carried away _a lot_ , but it had still been softer and more intimate than usual, so neither had complained.)

Jason chuckled behind him, and Percy automatically started grinning, too.

Then, he stretched and snuggled back into his boyfriend's embrace, deciding he could always blame his post-orgasmic state of bliss for being so cuddly, should Jason feel the need to comment.

But Jason didn't comment, instead letting out a content sigh and nuzzling his face back against the side of Percy's neck, kissing his sweaty skin.

"But yeah, I'd be okay with trying that again sometime. Maybe not right now, though." Percy mumbled at last, which had Jason grunting in agreement.

Percy listened to the sound of their heartbeats, not quite synced but close, and his head turned automatically so he could look back at his boyfriend, with his messy, blonde hair and that peaceful expression on his face.

All joking aside, he really didn't want to overdo it, just in case Jason wasn't as fine as he said he was.

Sure, he knew Will would have never let them do anything if he had even an inkling something could happen, but that didn't mean they should be careless.

Jason caught his look and gave him a kiss on the cheek before Percy knew what was happening.

"I'm feeling great, Percy. In fact, I think I feel even better now than before. Rejuvenated. Wow, you think I got superpowers now?" His dork of a boyfriend mused, and Percy couldn't help but snort as he pushed Jason's face away and tried to stop himself from laughing.

"You're such an idiot."

"You love me and my idiocy." Jason retorted with a shrug and wrapped himself around him again, leaving Percy no choice but to laugh, after all.

"I do." He admitted, and they snuggled together again, basking in the post-orgasmic haze of bliss and peace.

"Plus, you'd love it if I could heal you through sex." He then added, and Jason pinched his side.

"I _knew_ you would say that, Percy."

"You wouldn't get enough of me." Percy insisted undeterred and Jason huffed out a small laugh.

"I already can't."

Oh yeah? He didn't show it, though.

Jason bit his shoulder again, then chortled and kissed along his shoulder to his neck, then to his ear, then any inch of his face he could reach, even though – no, _especially when_ – Percy started wailing and whining.

"I love you, Percy." He said softly, and Percy's heart did that little flutter in his chest again as he felt his entire body tingling and warming, his wails dying down immediately.

Then, he hummed and snuggled back into Jason's embrace again.

"I love you, too." Percy admitted shyly, glancing at Jason out of the corner of his eyes at the perfect moment to catch his perfect and ridiculously overjoyed smile.

Percy faintly wondered how he could have ever _doubted_ loving Jason.

Clearly, he hadn't been thinking back then.

He huffed to himself, then grinned and rolled over to cup his boyfriend's face and draw him into a close-mouthed, yet sweet kiss.

Jason smirked against his lips again, but went along with it anyways, and the two returned to cuddling, waiting for their boyfriends to reappear from wherever they had gone.

"I'm going to take you out on a date one of these days, too." Jason promised him even though Percy hadn't said anything, and Percy had a hard time controlling the urge to mark this down in a calendar or call his boyfriends to let them know.

"Are you now? And there I had the impression you enjoyed our little cabin-date." He replied innocently instead, while their playlist began repeating itself from the beginning and Jason grabbed the blanket at their feet to throw it over them and return to cuddling properly.

"Loved it. But the next date will still be _better_."

Oh really?

Percy was definitely looking forward to that, then.

Grinning to himself, he searched for Jason's lips again blindly, and Jason kissed him back just as softly as earlier, the sensations only adding to Percy's state of bliss.

Oh, how he loved his boyfriends.


	16. Chapter 16: The Decisions We Make

**A/N:** Hey Cupcakes ;)

And here it is...the last chapter...

I hope you're ready for what's to come, because I sure as hell am not :D

Wish you all the best, and thanks to everyone for following the series so far ;3 You're the bestest!  
-Tári

* * *

 **Trigger Warnings** (just in case):  
\- Crying/Angst/Feels (nothing too bad though I don't think)  
\- Kyle gets a POV (self-explanatory, I daresay)

* * *

 **Chapter 16: The Decisions We Make**

Jason groaned and unceremoniously dropped his forehead onto the big table, which not only felt liberating, but also effectively shut up _all_ noise in the room as everybody turned to look at him.

"Dude, are you okay?" "Jason, do I have to get Will?" "Is he dead?"

A couple of kids asked, but Annabeth merely cleared her throat loudly to shut them up again.

"Jason, I'll inform you now that if you leave me behind with this mess, I will personally march into the Underworld and drag you back out." She said without discernable emotion, and Jason let out a small whine.

"I am sick and tired of planning, Annabeth. What's the point of this? We already have the rough location, what more do you want? This is already more than we had the last few times." He argued and forced himself to lift his head again, uncaring whether this made him seem a lot more like Percy than himself.

What was the _point_ of talking about the same thing over and over and over _and over_ again?

It was clear as day nothing was going to change, and no god or goddess or other wisely immortal being was going to have pity on them and make anything any easier on them.

He didn't want to leave, far from it, but the longer he waited, the more he knew he was wasting time.

The sooner he left, the sooner he could get his contract-business done and return to his guys, and then he could make sure to _be there_ when they needed him to be.

Annabeth threw her arms up and smacked him in the face with the rolled-up papers she always brought to their meetings.

Jason retaliated by grabbing hold of them, tugging them out of her hand, and throwing them in the bin next to him.

"Jason!"

"Annabeth!"

They glowered at each other, then Piper suddenly started laughing next to them, and they both turned to look at her with matching frowns.

"What?" They both asked, clearly annoyed, but Piper merely kept laughing and waved off with one hand, her other one covering half of her face.

"It's just…you're so similar, it's hilarious. Plus, Annabeth…your face when he…when he threw your papers…oh gods, I have to tell-…"

"You're not telling anybody anything. Jason, give me back my papers. There are some very important notes on them." Annabeth cut in, and Jason made a face, though he did reach down into the bin to retrieve them, anyways.

If only to keep the peace and put all the other people in the room at ease once more.

Half of them were holding their breaths with rather distressed expressions, after all, and he had better things to do than carry ten people to the infirmary and cause more work for his boyfriend because they passed out or the like.

"Thank you." She practically chirped, her eyes gleaming dangerously.

"You're welcome." He replied just as sweetly, and they glared at each other a moment longer for good measure, before she smoothed out the papers in front of her and tapped her pen against the table.

"So, since you made it so obvious you just can't _wait_ to rush to your death, even though it could have easily been avoided-…"

"We have a location, Annabeth. Granted, we don't know which god or goddess it is, but we know they are in or near Washington DC. Why not let me check it out? That's how we've worked the past times, and it's gotten us all the signatures we have up to this point." He argued, and Annabeth made a sound that showed she was going to rip his head off if he dared to interrupt her again.

Unfortunately, he didn't care.

Instead, he reached out for the dark brown container that _looked_ like it was made of leather, but whatever Leo had used for it, it didn't _feel_ like leather, didn't have any distinctive smell or weight to it, and it made it practically impossible for anybody but Jason (and whoever he chose as the next-in-line for this task) to open it.

How, Jason had no idea, but he still felt like thanking Calypso over and over again whenever he remembered it had been her idea to add that little feature when he had given Leo the job to build this thing.

He unfastened the clips and caught everyone but Annabeth pushing away from the table automatically, just as apprehensive as the first time he had done this, though they should know by now nothing bad happened whenever he opened it.

As before, the container opened without issues, and he tugged out the parchment-like paper roll inside.

In the beginning, he had been amazed when his regular writing paper had turned into this parchment, but by now his eyes had grown accustomed to the old and withered look, same as he had grown used to see his handwriting turned into all the crazy symbols he had only later learnt were Ancient Greek letters, describing what he had written in English before.

He spread out the contract for everyone to see, showing the number of signatures and the list of requirements and promises that had so far been made.

"The longer we wait, the less this list is going to grow, Annabeth. I know you want to be prepared for everything, but right now, that's _impossible_." He pointed out, knowing full well she was apprehensive and concerned about possible traps and monster attacks, but so was he, and he knew if they didn't act soon, it would be too late to do _any_ sort of travelling anymore.

So, he much rather took his chances now.

Though he really, _really_ didn't want to leave, especially not with his boyfriends still at Camp.

Sure, he trusted them to be fine without him, but would he be fine without them?

Just the thought of not having them around anymore made him feel lonely and crave their embrace, and if that didn't show how bad Jason had it for the lot of them, he wasn't sure what would.

Annabeth looked down at the contract with a mingled expression, her mouth already opening to undoubtedly bring up something that would make him reconsider – that's what she had managed to do the past times after all – but then she didn't, instead frowning and leaning forward.

"Erm…Jason?" She asked, and he let out a deep sigh and rubbed at his face beneath his glasses, wondering what it was _now_.

"Yes?" He asked, trying to be patient as always, but after this many meetings and no solutions or progress, he had to admit he was reaching his wit's end.

"When did you get the signature of the goddess of magic, exactly? And…erm…Percy's dad…? My…my _mother_ …?!" Annabeth asked, and Jason took a moment to catch on to what she was saying, his mind uselessly wrapping around the words before he made sense of them.

Then, he frowned and pulled his hands away from his face, glasses nearly falling off as he leaned forward to check what she was talking about.

"What do you mean? I didn't-…" He started, then cut himself off when his eyes hushed over the fine lines and symbols that Annabeth pointed to, definitely translating to Hecate, Poseidon and Athena.

There was muttering around them as neither of them spoke, and several people leaned forward to check what they were looking at, closely followed by a series of gasps and a renewed wave of excited mumbling.

Jason stared.

"How…" He whispered, grabbing hold of the contract to pull it towards him, eyes scanning over the disturbingly _much longer_ list of signatures it now held.

The last time he had looked had been after Hades had pointed out he had already signed the contract, to confirm his statement and check whether Persephone and Demeter had anything else to add condition-wise, though they surprisingly enough hadn't.

Now, however, there was a whole bunch of names following those three.

Poseidon. Amphitrite. Aphrodite. Artemis. Ares. Hera. Apollo. Hermes. Countless others, though the ones that stood out the most to him right now were those of the actual _Olympians_.

Jason sat back down with a swimming head when his eyes zeroed in on _Zeus_.

"When…how…" He mumbled, more to himself than anybody else, trying to count how many they had now, and which ones were still missing, which was easier said than done in his confusion.

"What did you do to get those?" Annabeth asked, but he could only shake his head.

He hadn't done _anything_.

At least, not that he knew of…?

With a sense of dread, he checked the conditions and requirements, but next to a heart and a winking smiley next to Aphrodite's name, and a rather confusing ' _Whatever'_ next to Ares', there was _nothing_.

How high was the probability of all the _big_ gods up there in Olympus just having a nicety streak and signing a peace treaty without requirements or wishes or fusses or him having to travel the world to gain their favors?

Very, _very_ low.

"These are mostly the big ones. I mean, that's _great_ , Jason. Very strange and unusual, and I hope we'll get behind the _why_ , but still great. A lot of the more minor gods are still missing, though." Annabeth started, then put her chin on her folded hands and stared off into space with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Do you think it's because of the monsters returning? Maybe it affects them as well." She then mused, and the muttering around them instantly picked up again, now turning more worried than excited.

"Maybe there truly is another war coming." Clarisse said thoughtfully, her finger tapping her cheek as she ignored the almost frantic whispering around her.

"Wouldn't that make them _less_ likely to sign the contract then, though?" Piper put in doubtfully, and Jason looked at Annabeth for her opinion.

"Hard to say. If it affects the gods…no, it doesn't make sense. Simply doesn't. If it was the minor gods, I'd say a war might affect them badly and they want the big ones to help. But for _the Olympians_ to sign first, _without requirements_ , to boot…" Annabeth shook her head as she spoke, her brow creasing even further in worry.

Piper stroked over her back next to her, sharing a conflicted look with Jason.

He wasn't sure how to feel about this. At all.

On one side, this was _great_ , because it meant a lot less work for him and his team, a lot less time wasted on travelling, a lot less funds wasted on travelling costs, a lot more time with his boyfriends, a lot more and faster peace for the camps.

On the other side, this was _horrible_ , because there was no way of knowing _why_ the gods had done this, and if there was one thing they all knew, it was that the gods _never_ did anything for free, and never without reason.

Except Hades, maybe, because Jason was pretty sure the god of the Underworld hadn't taken anything from them with allowing them to stay in Nico's room together and spending their little vacation there – but Hades was a completely different matter, anyways, because he was different from the other gods in plenty other ways already.

For a moment, Jason wondered whether Hades could be behind this, that he had somehow managed to convince the other gods to help him out in his cause, since he had also made Persephone and Demeter sign without conditions – but the thought alone was so absurd, Jason brushed it off immediately.

None of the Olympians would hear Hades out, and even if, then nobody would go against Zeus and/or Poseidon – and since those two had signed at well, chances had to be absolute _zero_ for Hades to have anything to do with this.

Jason noticed the noise picking up around them considerably, the panic apparently reaching its peak as quite a few conspiracy theories (?) reached his ears, while others declared (aka _yelled_ ) this was going to be World War 3 and the gods had something to do with it (then again, when did they not).

He looked towards Clarisse for help, and she slammed her fist on the table with a loud yell, holding her spear at the ready.

All noise died immediately.

"Thank you, Clarisse." He said with a small sigh, and Clarisse gave him a short nod before lowering her spear again, while Annabeth and Piper leaned forward, waiting for him to speak.

Jason reached for the contract and started rolling it up again to put it back in its container, collecting his thoughts and thinking about everything they knew so far, and everything that now changed because of this unexpected development.

It saved them a lot of work, but only the end part of it, so there was still plenty to do.

"We may not know _why_ we have achieved these signatures, but what's done is done, and as long as we continue our work and get the missing signatures to achieve a satisfactory contract for all parties involved, the already collected signatures can't be revoked. As such, I say we express our gratitude and take it as a sign we have done well so far. There is still more than enough that needs to be done, and plenty of signatures that are still missing – including the one from whatever entity is currently in or near Washington DC."

Annabeth let out a small, displeased grumble and fell back in her chair, though she didn't speak up, which meant she was at least contemplating the idea more now than before.

Jason let his gaze move over the faces around him as he clicked the container shut.

"If this shows us anything, it's that even the gods know there is not much time. We don't know what's out there, we don't know what will happen, we are completely cut off from any possible prophecies or hints that could give us a lead or a vague idea. But the longer we wait, the longer we're waiting for the bad stuff to come to us. I say we take our chance now and get moving – we already have a lead, it won't get much better. Or has waiting things out ever worked out for demigods before?" He continued, and Annabeth looked down at the table for a long moment, before giving a small nod.

Then she straightened her back and took a deep breath to speak, while the rest of the room waited with bated breath for her decision.

"Alright. We do it like that, then. Though I want you all to attempt contacting your godly parent and ask them for a hint or explanation. Maybe one of them will be able to give us some sort of answer to the mystery. Jason, I trust you know what to do from here on out?" She asked, though they both knew the answer to that.

"I'll put together the team and set a time and date for a departure as soon as possible." He summed up.

There was muttering around the table again and everybody pushed away from him, though it went without saying none of the present company would actually come with him, anyways.

These were the heads of their respective cabins (minus Will and Leo, who never attended these meetings by their own choice), they were needed at Camp much more than out in the field right now, with the absence of quests.

Annabeth gave a nod and Piper declared the meeting as over, resulting in a lot of rustling and buzzing as everybody started talking again immediately, the majority of them filing out as quickly as possible, while others lagged behind to chat more insistently.

After all, nobody should know of the things discussed in these meetings, though Jason wasn't sure how much the others stuck to that.

Since they hadn't really made any sort of breakthrough with their past meetings, they had refrained from making oaths, after all.

Now, it would only take a day for everybody to know Jason would leave, anyways, so it didn't matter whether they'd hear it from Chiron, him, or any of the current members.

Jason rubbed the side of his neck with a deep sigh as he waited for everybody to leave, though he wasn't surprised to find Annabeth and Piper lagging behind, as well.

The moment the door closed behind the last person, Jason groaned and dropped his head back onto the table.

Annabeth and Piper let out matching chuckles, which he decided to pointedly ignore.

" _Somebody_ doesn't seem eager to leave." Piper noted in a teasing tone, and Jason groaned again, while Annabeth huffed.

" _Somebody_ also decided to do everything in their power to leave as soon as possible." The daughter of Athena said dryly, but Jason ignored the jab.

"You should probably tell your boyfriends. Also, ask Nico whether his dad has anything to do with the signature thing. I can't quite wrap my mind around it just yet, but at the same time it's the only thing I can think of." She told him, though he would have done that, anyways.

He stayed where he was, his forehead pressing against the smooth and pleasantly cool wood.

Annabeth poked him with her papers.

"Come on, no moping. You clearly brought this upon yourself. Now, go and stop making your boyfriends worry outside, and don't come crying to me when your 'great lead' turns out to be a giant monster trap. Just know: I've told you so." She pointed out ever so lovingly, and he grumbled in reply, though he also sighed and pushed himself away from the table.

"It will be fine. So far, it seems to be a genuine lead, and you know it. Of course there'll be monsters, but that's a given. Before they mysteriously disappeared, they used to be everywhere, after all. Don't forget that." He retorted, though he regretted his word choice a moment later.

 _Of course_ Annabeth knew that.

Annabeth had faced enough of them on her quests and throughout her past, after all.

Luckily, when he glanced at her with an apology at the ready, she was already shrugging his comment off and nodding towards the door.

"Get lost, Grace. Your boyfriends need you."

"My boyfriends should all be at work. It's not like they'll miss me anytime soon."

"That's what you think, but I bet you ten bucks all three of them will be outside waiting for you. News travel faster here than you'd like, Jason. Even after all your time here, you still don't seem to have realized that just yet." Annabeth replied with a shrug, and he rolled his eyes, though he didn't argue.

He knew news travelled fast at Camp Half-Blood. But not _that_ fast, yet.

Annabeth and Piper made no move to get up, so he bid his goodbyes and left the room, making his way past the other kids still with their heads together and discussing their theories.

Who would he visit first?

Percy would probably love some sort of break from training the most, though he was beginning to feel Nico thought he was picking favorites, so he didn't want to _always_ go to Percy first.

But since it was nearly lunch, it might not be a bad idea to check on Will first, to make sure he took his break and ate.

Or he could bring him lunch and then visit the other two at their respective training grounds with food…

Jason shook his head to himself, knowing full well that he was only pondering this hard in order not to think about the travelling that would now happen.

Soon. Very soon. Too soon.

When? If it was up to him, never.

Unfortunately, it _was_ up to him, and he knew he couldn't wait.

Tomorrow? The day after that?

His usual travel companions were always at the ready to leave, they had already settled on that from the very beginning on, in order to be capable of leaving at a moment's notice.

So, technically speaking, they could even leave after lunchtime.

Jason's stomach dropped.

No, _that_ was _way_ too soon.

Two days.

Or three.

Or four…another week…

Jason took a deep breath and looked up at the Camp grounds around him, rather than his own feet – just to stop and blink in surprise when his eyes fell on three certain demigods.

Oh.

"Told you so." Annabeth called behind him, and he made a face, though he merely lifted his hand in acknowledgment instead of looking around.

Okay, fine, she had been right.

Then again, maybe it was coincidence they had met on the way to the dining pavilion or something…

"Hey Jason. We heard you guys finally came to an agreement? When's the trip starting? Where to?" Percy asked the moment he was in hearing range, and Jason heard Piper and Annabeth chuckle.

Yeah, okay, she had been right.

Hopefully, that would be the only thing she'd end up being right about.

...

"Come on, lean back, relax, we got all the time in the world, Handsome." Will insisted as he nudged Jason again so his back was against the wall in a more or less comfortable way.

The bed only offered that many comfortable positions, after all.

"Will is right. You're all stiff and broody. Relax." Percy agreed and had his fingers in Jason's hair again as he shuffled closer to his side, though Jason didn't seem to mind.

Then again, when did Jason ever mind anything Percy did? Will couldn't think of anything.

Jason let out a small laugh that did nothing but convey how stressed and overwhelmed he was right now.

"Guys, look, I got a lot to do now. I have to get everybody together and write a supply list and check back with Chiron for the funds for the travel…" He started, but then Nico did them all the favor of putting his finger to Jason's lips.

"Shush. That can wait until later. Now is cuddle time. Let us cuddle you."

As it always was, Nico's words were law, and Jason let himself fall back with a deep sigh and his eyes falling shut, allowing them to do as they pleased.

Which meant it was time to _attack_.

Will purred and nudged his way between Jason's legs, his lips first pressing innocently against Jason's jaw – then he started leaving pecks along his neck, first focusing on the side, then making his way to the front of his throat.

Jason let out a weak huff and tilted his head back further to grant him better access.

Percy and Nico mimicked Will, shifting closer and beginning to kiss whatever inch of skin they could reach, and the three of them shared small glances and smirks whenever their eyes met.

"What are you doing?" Jason asked quietly with a small frown on his face, though his eyes remained closed and the corners of his lips kept twitching upwards, so he clearly wasn't opposed to their doings.

"Helping you relax." Will and Nico replied at the same time and grinned at each other, before continuing their ministrations.

"Feels more like you're trying to seduce me, to be honest." Jason remarked, and Percy chuckled lightly against his hair as his hands roamed Jason's chest appreciatively.

"Guilty as charged."

"Do you want us to stop?" Will asked, though he knew the answer already.

"Nah. This feels much better than anything else I have to get to."

Good. Just the way they wanted it.

"We're just getting started. Wait until you can't think of anything but our touches anymore, tesoro mio." Nico pointed out, and now Will was the one smirking against Jason's skin, while Percy let out a small, wanting gasp.

Jason shivered slightly, opening one eye to peek at them.

"That sounds lovely."

Will pulled away to meet his gaze, then shared a telling look with his boyfriends.

Well, if Jason said it _like that_ , they simply _had_ to get a move on and up their game, clearly.

With renewed vigor, they went back to work.

.

They teased, kissed, nibbled, sucked and stroked and poked, driving Jason crazy on utmost purpose.

A teasing nibble on Jason's earlobe.

A soft suck on sensitive skin at the side of Jason's neck.

A tongue tracing along Jason's abdomen downwards, fingers hooking in the waistband of his underpants.

Will smirked as he watched Nico creating another hickey, even though he knew he'd be the one to fix that later.

Percy was getting a little impatient, tugging on Jason's boxer shorts and making a whiny sound, though they had originally planned to take things slower than this.

However, Jason seemed more than ready to let them take things further, lifting his hips for Percy to tug the fabric off and seeming just as impatient.

Will and Nico exchanged a knowing look, then assaulted Jason's neck from both sides, making him gasp and let his head fall back once more.

With more precision, rhythm and intensity, they could probably drive Jason over the edge with playing with his neck alone, but since they were in no rush and they wanted to make the most of this, they didn't really try.

Jason still enjoyed it immensely, anyways, panting and gasping softly and bearing his neck to them, while Percy got comfortable between his legs, feeling as happy as a child on Christmas Eve.

Will grinned at both their enthusiasm, then focused on dragging teeth and tongue along Jason's throat again, making him gulp and draw a sharp breath, his hand finding Will's thigh.

Nico distracted him by biting the crook of his neck, causing him to shiver and drop his hand from Will's thigh in order to reach out for Nico, but then Percy dragged his tongue along the length of his dick, and both of Jason's hands shot down to grab hold of Percy's hair with a strangled moan.

All in all, Will would say their plan of ravishing Jason was working out perfectly, so far.

Then again, it had been Nico's idea, and they all knew Nico's ideas were always the best.

What better way to get Jason to unwind and show him how much they wanted and loved him, than to do the very thing they had done for Nico and Will to show them the same?

Will had never felt better than when the three of them had ravished him, so it was surprising he hadn't been the one to bring it up first.

Though that also meant they absolutely _had_ to do this for Percy at some point, too, because that would probably be the highlight of his life for him and he'd be putty in their hands immediately.

Almost like Jason, who was feeling a giddy sense of euphoria next to all the lust and love and devotion, even if he didn't say anything and didn't really let it show.

Will bit his neck, the same moment Nico did, and Jason jumped slightly and drew another sharp breath.

"Guys!"

Hehe, his voice sounded so raspy and nice.

"Let us take care of you." Nico purred back at him and kissed along his neck and shoulder again, and Jason shot Will a look that either meant 'Thank the gods' or 'Please save me, I'm not ready'.

Will shrugged in reply and gave him a peck on the nose, before wiggling his eyebrows at him and twirling his finger so Jason turned a little.

When Jason _didn't_ turn and instead let his eyes fall shut and his head fall back, Will nudged Percy and urged him to stop his ministrations on Jason's dick.

As expected, that made Jason move much quicker, allowing Will to wrap his legs around his hips from behind, hooking them with Jason's legs to get a good hold on him as well as keep his feet out of Percy's way, who whined impatiently and seemed more than eager to get back to work.

"Are we going to take this further?" Nico asked, one hand raised to reach for their nightstand if necessary.

"Are we? What do you want, Jason?" Will passed the question to their boyfriend, who was panting and shrugging.

Will smirked and leaned forward a little, resting his chin on Jason's shoulder, which was only possible this easily because Jason was leaning forward slightly.

"Do you want more? We can give you anything you want, Handsome." He purred, which had Nico shivering first, though Jason quickly followed.

"I'm fine with anything you want to do." Jason rasped back, and Will rolled his eyes, which had Nico snickering quietly.

That was _such_ a Jason-thing to do, even though he had to know by now Will always wanted a clear answer to that question, to make sure everything was consensual.

He sighed and nuzzled his face against the side of Jason's neck, nibbling gently on the already reddened skin and luring a few faint gasps from Jason.

"We could have our first time, if you want to. I don't know whether you're okay with Nico and Percy being around for that, so I thought I better ask first. In case you'd rather do that when you and I are alone, I'm sure we'll find something else to do now, though. You just need to tell us what you want…" He offered, and Percy pulled back a little to look up at him in surprise, before giving Jason his best ' _Go for it, Jason! Take him up on it! Come on!_ '-expression – which went completely unnoticed by Jason, who had his eyes closed and his attention on pleasure and bliss, needing a moment to even comprehend Will's words.

"You can have any of us…" Will added as an afterthought, smirking when both Nico and Percy shivered, before both looking at Will in surprise when they noticed he had included himself in that, too.

He doubted Jason would take him up on _that_ , but if he did, Will was pretty sure he could work with it – he just wasn't allowed to freak out, and the other two would probably have to cut back a little, though he knew they'd do so in an instant without question or complaint.

Jason turned his head towards him a little, looking at him with a tinge of surprise, as well.

"I…I'd be fine with Nico and Percy being here. _Sure_ …but, are you sure you'd be okay with that?" He asked, sounding a tad uncertain, though also rather intrigued.

Will chuckled and dropped his forehead against Jason's shoulder blade with a small sigh.

He hadn't even picked up on it.

Nico buried his face in one hand for a moment, then smiled at them with an expression that said he should have guessed, while Percy shook his head, but still seemed rather eager to see how the conversation would go.

"Are you asking me whether I'd be okay with ravishing you? Or whether I'd be okay with ravishing you while Percy and Nico are around?" He asked for confirmation, and Jason shifted slightly in his hold, anticipation and curiosity beginning to get the better of him.

"Both?"

Jason was such a sweetheart.

Will kissed the back of his neck, the short but growing hairs tickling his face.

"Well, in that case, rest assured. I definitely don't mind."

Giddy euphoria surged through Jason and he shivered again, which made Will smile and kiss him again, while Percy and Nico chuckled at the expression on Jason's face – something Will couldn't see, but his emotions gave him enough of a clue.

"Want to continue where we left off, then?" Will asked, and Nico made a small sound and lunged at their bedside table to probably get lube and condom, while Percy hummed and whispered an eager 'Yes, please', already shifting back closer to Jason's crotch, though he waited patiently (somewhat) for Jason to give his okay.

"That would be great." Jason said and cleared his throat, his hands twitching slightly, and Will heard Percy's relieved sigh, which was quickly followed by Jason letting out a soft moan that had Will grinning again.

"Percy, don't get him too close to the edge, yeah?" He reminded his boyfriend when he felt the bliss coursing through Jason and his body kept jolting and twitching, and Percy held a thumb up to show he had heard.

Nico chuckled and put down the lube and condom next to Will, before he moved to join Percy, much to their surprise.

"Percy, make space. And learn to share." Nico chided as he nudged his shoulder, and Percy grumbled in reply, though he immediately shifted to accommodate him.

Great, with _both_ of them blowing Jason, who would kiss him senseless? Jason loved that.

Jason let out a low groan and spread his legs further as his head tipped back again – and Will figured he'd be fine with getting blown for now.

Will gave the back of his neck another peck, then kissed his way to the side of it, his hands stroking down Jason's back slowly and probably completely out of tune with Percy's and Nico's movements, but it didn't matter – Jason seemed to like it, anyways.

He was a lot like Percy in that regard.

Percy liked anything that made him feel good, anything that made him feel wanted and loved – Jason liked anything that they gave him, the sappier the better, adoring the feeling of loving and being loved.

Will kept kissing and teasing his neck, his hands moving lower and lower to Jason's backside, not quite sure how slow he wanted to take things, especially with Percy and Nico blowing him simultaneously.

Maybe it would be smarter to let him come first and _then_ deflower his backside – that would at least guarantee he was prepped enough.

Will stroked over Jason's butt with both hands, just to check his reaction and explore a little, and Jason immediately stilled, the anticipation and curiosity back in an instant.

Wow, how had Will never noticed Jason was _this_ intrigued?

Will bit his lip and explored a little further, and when Jason trembled and pushed back against him a little, it was _Will's_ turn to feel intrigued.

He kept stroking, tempted to grab the lube, but he knew Jason wasn't in the right position for more, and Will wouldn't be able to support his weight, either, so that made this a tad more difficult.

Will leaned back further to keep his arm from twisting too much, just to find Nico's head popping up next to Jason's side, taking one look at him, one look down at his hand, then he smirked and disappeared from view again, leaving Will to huff.

What a nice boyfriend he had.

The next moment, Percy snickered and hummed – then he and Jason started shifting, moving so Jason more or less climbed onto Percy's lap while Nico sat next to them with a shit-eating grin on his face, and Will wanted to kiss him to Elysium and back.

What a _great_ boyfriend he had.

Will blew him a kiss and shifted back closer to Jason, grabbing the lube as he went.

Alright, time to get this truly started.

.

Jason let out another low groan, meeting the thrusts of his fingers lightly, though he allowed Will to set the pace.

Will smiled down at him and curled his fingers, hoping he was meeting Jason's expectations, though he was beginning to believe Jason had set that bar pretty low.

At least he seemed curious about everything, surprised every time something felt good, and completely excited whenever Will took things a step further.

He glanced towards Percy and Nico for a moment, who had pulled back a little to give Will and Jason a little space – and so Nico could ravage Percy against the wall.

Right now, Percy's chest and arms was pressing against the cool wall helplessly with his back arched and his butt sticking out as much as it could, while Nico had a firm grip on his hips and was pounding into him, all the while chanting words of praise for his boyfriend, though Will wondered whether he was aware he was doing so in Italian.

All in all, they seemed perfectly fine to him, so he returned his attention to Jason, who had his eyes on them as well.

"You want to do the same?" Will asked, half teasing, half serious, pleased when Jason shivered and looked up at him with his sky-blue eyes, giddy anticipation welling up inside him once more.

"I probably won't be as loud."

Will smirked and leaned down to kiss his boyfriend, then curled his fingers again to make him gasp.

"I know. Looking forward to your first time?" He couldn't help but tease a little, while Jason let his eyes flutter shut and his glasses slid off his face again.

Will moved them back onto his nose with his somewhat free hand, sitting up a bit to prevent losing his balance.

"A bit nervous, to be honest." Jason admitted, and Will stilled for a moment, surprised by the honesty, though he knew he shouldn't be.

Then he smiled and leaned back down to kiss him again – first a drawn-out, messy kiss, then a series of small pecks to ease the momentary tension in Jason's shoulders.

"I'll be careful."

"I know you'll be. I trust you." Jason replied without hesitation, and Will gave him as many pecks as he could, until his boyfriend was smiling helplessly and wriggled beneath him a little to get him to get back to what he had been doing.

Will relented and pushed his fingers in and out of Jason again, curling them every here and there to get to his good spot, though Jason seemed interested enough in the thrusting motion alone.

Who'd have guessed he could actually be a bottom and enjoy it like this?

Now, Will kind of wished he had dared, back when they had been in the pillow corner and he had wanted to take things further so badly, but refrained from it in the end.

"And you're sure you want _me_ to be your first?" He asked again, unable to help himself, though he knew he'd get reprimanded for that later.

He had just assumed Percy would end up being Jason's first – and by the looks of it, Percy had hoped for the same, though he had taken it fairly well after the initial shock.

"Will, I've wanted you to do this ever since the pillow corner." Jason retorted with a weak huff, and Will felt the heat rising in his face.

Oh. So, he wasn't the only one thinking of the pillow corner still.

Jason shuffled, then peeked at him out of one eye tentatively, a blush creeping up his neck.

"Maybe even before then." He added, and now Will's face was beginning to _burn_ , so he made a small sound and curled his fingers a tad more aggressively, which had Jason moaning and lifting one leg further up as his eye squeezed shut once more.

"You definitely should have told me." Will breathed, though when Jason huffed and seemed ready to shoot back something along the lines of 'I did!', Will chose the coward's way out and pulled his fingers out, leaving Jason to hiss and search for the source of his pleasure blindly.

He didn't whine or complain, but he did look rather upset and kept shifting his hips, only stilling when Will sat up and grabbed the lube and condom next to him.

"This position?" He asked for verification, and Jason nodded.

"I want to see you."

Will should have guessed as much, but the way Jason freely admitted to that still surprised him.

He slid the condom down his length and lubed up, taking a bit longer than usual as he felt Jason's eyes following every move of his hand as if in trance, the nervous anticipation taking turns in welling up and levelling out.

It seemed to him Jason was trying to be rational about it to calm himself, but with each stroke of Will's hand, he knew they were getting closer to the real thing and giddiness would surge through him again.

Will smiled and leaned down over Jason again, drawing him into a slow, sweet kiss as he moved one hand around Jason's leg to push it up, his other arm next to Jason to hold himself up.

"Ready?" He asked quietly, and Jason nodded, one side of his mouth quirking up slightly.

"How could I not be, with you taking care of me?" He asked, and that alone deserved at least three more kisses, in Will's opinion.

He went to do just that, then got carried away and started kissing him more languidly, waiting until Jason relaxed completely and stroked over Will's sides in appreciation, before Will pushed his hips forward slowly and guided his dick to nudge against Jason's entrance.

Jason didn't tense up, instead continuing to kiss him and tug on his bottom lip gently, his legs shifting further apart.

"Tell me if I have to stop." Will reminded him, then pushed in, trying to be as slow and careful as possible and partly cursing Percy and Nico for getting sidetracked, because he surely could have used their help right about now to distract Jason better.

Now, Jason did tense, stilling for a moment with the hint of a frown appearing on his face, before he tilted his head slightly in clear invitation for another kiss that Will was happy to give.

He had prepped him well enough for it to not _hurt_ , not even sting, really, but he knew it still had to feel weird, what with this being Jason's first time.

None of that changed the fact it felt amazing for Will, though.

Gods, it felt _great_.

Too great, really.

Will felt hot and cold at the same time, pushing his tongue into Jason's mouth in a faint attempt to get his mind and focus away from the tight wet heat that had him at the brink of climax immediately, his body shaking with effort not to start thrusting forward.

His arms started trembling and giving way, so he coaxed his way into a more or less comfortable position for them both with him half laying on Jason, glad when his boyfriend didn't even seem to notice the difference.

"Color?" He asked, though Jason didn't seem opposed so far, and Jason confirmed the same a moment later by nodding and mumbling 'Green'.

Biting his lip, Will kept his eyes on Jason's face as he began to move, thrusting into him at a slow, shallow pace.

Jason tensed again, a small gasp flying from his lips before his eyes fluttered shut, his grip on Will's sides tightening slightly.

Will studied his face intently as he continued, trying to keep himself away from the edge by focusing on Jason's emotions and making sure he was in no discomfort.

It even worked rather well – until he managed to thrust into Jason more and more freely and deeper, and the sensations turned from strange and foreign to more and more _pleasant_.

Then Will was panting again, both from his own pleasure and Jason's, and he leaned down to bury his face at the side of Jason's reddened neck, adding a few more hickeys as he tried to keep himself from blowing as well as surviving the sticky heat and the lack of oxygen in his current position.

Jason let out a deep groan, his body jolting repeatedly whenever Will teased his neck, though he was also beginning to meet his thrusts lightly.

"Is it…is it good? For you?" He heard Jason ask quietly, and Will realized he hadn't actually said anything since thrusting into him other than to ask for the color update.

Shit, he was a _lousy_ boyfriend.

Will gave Jason a series of pecks from his neck to his jaw to his lips, smiling down at him reassuringly as he tried to find a steady rhythm that would make them both feel good.

"You feel _great_ , Handsome. Sorry for not telling you before now. I'm a little speechless." He admitted, but Jason seemed perfectly satisfied with receiving that reassurance now, smiling up at him and stroking over his sides softly.

"Speechless? You? Impossible." Jason teased faintly, and Will made sure to stick his tongue out at him, before grinning and pressing their lips together again.

"Don't you get cocky now, dork." He whispered, and Jason grinned up at him cheekily, before humming and letting his head fall back, exposing his throat in clear invitation.

Will made sure to be gentle as he kissed and licked and grazed along the sensitive skin with his teeth, his thrusts picking up in pace and intensity as he felt more confident.

Jason wasn't as loud nor expressive as Percy was and Nico could be, but he still showed he liked it, and Will tried his best to make it as good as possible, his hand disappearing between them to help angle his dick to hit his prostate, which at first had Jason making a surprised – and rather high-pitched, much to Will's amusement and pride – sound, though he then fell back into his low groans and small moans.

Will was tempted to see whether he could make him lose his cool more than this, but decided to keep that for another time – should there be one – so he rather focused on keeping his pace and rhythm to give Jason a good and gentle first time.

He might be curious and intrigued, but more in the lovemaking part, not in the senseless fucking Percy sometimes enjoyed, or the testing of boundaries and experimenting that Nico was into.

In that regard, Will and Jason were best matched, both craving the affection and intimacy during sex more than the actual sex.

He felt the mattress moving and glanced sideways, not surprised to find Percy crawling into bed and towards them with a pleased, yet curious look on his face.

"Need any help?" His boyfriend asked, then rolled the last inches to Jason's side and gave him a peck on the cheek, which of course turned Jason to mush as always.

"You just want to get off on watching us enjoy ourselves." Will remarked dryly as he halted in his thrusting, partly glad for the distraction so he could drag this out, partly hoping to get back to resuming said thrusting because it felt _so good_.

"Yeah, pretty much. Sorry, but there's _no way_ I'm not watching this. I've got sexual fantasies that need to be fulfilled, you know?" Percy admitted with a shrug, and Will and Jason gave him matching looks.

"What? It's not every day I get to see Sparky taking it. I gotta get my fill of that. And take notes, so I get to make him feel the best when it's _my_ turn."

Was that a jab at Will getting Jason's first time?

Will couldn't quite tell, though Percy radiated contentment and a sort of giddy joy, so he doubted he meant that in a bad way.

"Now you're just making me self-conscious." Jason remarked, and Percy snickered and gave him another peck on the cheek, before giving him a few more, and Will smiled, waiting for Jason to close his eyes and relax again to continue their earlier pace.

Jason sucked in a deep breath, his shoulders pushing back into the mattress slightly as he tried to lift his hips a little more, and Will pushed himself up to put his hands on Jason's hip and push into him like that, leaving it to Percy to kiss Jason, which he did in the messiest way possible, just to make Will moan.

At least he was confident Percy was doing this on purpose, since his boyfriend kept glancing at him with that teasing gleam in his eyes.

Will retaliated by tipping his head back and making his thrusts more languid and deep, which both granted better visual _and_ had Jason groaning a tad louder than before – and Percy was instantly all dilated pupils and ragged breathing.

"Damn, I definitely want your next time, Jason." Percy muttered weakly, which had Jason let out a weak laugh, while Will huffed.

"No chance. I already called dibs."

"What?! No way, not again!" Percy immediately complained, and Will cackled as he closed his eyes again, humming at the sensations coursing through them as he picked up his pace tentatively.

"Are you two fighting over Jason again?" Nico asked as he climbed into the bed as well, apparently having returned from the bathroom already, and the two of them shot him his most innocent faces, though both of them dropped their heads with matching low groans as Jason thrust back against Will and squeezed Percy's side pointedly at the same time.

Nico chuckled and leaned forward to give Will a kiss, then he took one look at the way they were positioned and disappeared from view again, just to come back with a pillow to push it under Jason's hips – which promptly caused both of them to groan at the _much_ better angle.

Damn, Nico was beginning to pick up on things faster than Will did.

Unbelievable.

"You're an angel." He whispered gratefully against Nico's lips when he gave him his best 'Thank you'-kiss, while Percy cackled from where he remained next to Jason.

"That moment when the student surpasses the master." He commented wryly, and Nico smacked him in the face playfully with the next free pillow he found, which led to a bit of wrestling that quickly turned into kissing – and before soon, they were kissing Will and Jason again, slowly and sensually, and Will found a good rhythm again, while Jason moaned and groaned and let them ravish him with three hands working his dick and balls and two mouths to appease his need for kisses.

All in all, Jason seemed to really enjoy his first time.

And he hadn't thought of anything but them in any way whatsoever, so Will considered this a win-win.

...

The A/C was turned up, their ventilator had hidden again, and Jason was as sappy as usual, snuggling Will against his chest with his nose buried in his hair, even though their skin was still sticky with sweat.

Nico had been the first to escape their cuddling, sitting at the edge of their bed to partake in the whispered conversation they had, though said conversation had way too many breaks in it to be considered an actual conversation.

Percy was plastered against Jason's back still, occasionally complaining about Jason being all sweaty and gross, though he also refused to let go of him lest Will got a chance to call dibs on his backside again.

What a dork.

"I don't want to leave." Jason muttered into his hair, and a collective sigh sounded through the cabin.

Yeah, they didn't want to leave, either.

"Hey, we knew this was coming. Better now than later, I guess? Plus, the sooner you get that contract completed, the sooner we can move to New Rome and finish college." Percy reasoned, and Will lifted his head slightly to peek at him over Jason's shoulder.

"Don't make it sound like that's your only motivation of going there, Percy. We all know you just really want to lead a peaceful and domestic life with us in a nice place with twenty dogs and five kids or something."

"Twenty kids and five dogs. Weren't you listening?" Percy corrected, and Nico groaned.

"What did I say about the kids-talk?"

"Yeah, Percy, what did Nico say about the kids-talk?" Will teased, and Jason tugged him back down to shut him up with a kiss, while Percy huffed behind him sulkily.

"Well, to be honest, he kind of only forbid to talk about _marriage_ , not _children_ , so…" Percy then started barely audibly, and Will nearly choked on his spit as he started laughing.

"What was that?" Nico asked, and they both winced.

"Nothing."

Jason let out a deep sigh, his fingers stroking through Will's curls as he nuzzled his face back into them.

"I know all that. But I still don't want to go."

Will stroked over his arm soothingly.

"Hey, it's not gonna be that bad." He said quietly, though he immediately winced inwardly.

That had to be the worst lie he had ever told.

"Will is right. You still got us, after all." Percy chimed in, but Will decided to keep quiet, trying not to think of the field, the hole in the ground, Tartarus, falling.

The thoughts came, anyways, but he merely closed his eyes and let them zap through his mind, his heart sinking as the realization set in just _what_ it meant for them to leave now.

These would most likely be his last few days at Camp.

The last time he would get to see his friends.

The last time he would get to see his _siblings_.

The thoughts made tears well up in his eyes and his throat constricted.

"Yeah, _here_. But it's not like we can IM the entire time or anything." Jason sulked, and Will was torn out of his thoughts as he pulled back to frown at him.

…What?

Nico turned to look at them with a matching frown as well, while Percy sat up behind Jason, staring down at him as if he had grown a second head.

" _Excuse me_?" Percy asked when neither Nico or Will managed to do so, and Jason blinked at them in question, seeming confused by their reaction.

"You're joking, right?" Will asked in disbelief, searching Jason's eyes for some sort of evidence this was just a joke, but all that met him was genuine confusion.

No. No way. Impossible.

"What?" Jason asked them in utmost bewilderment as he looked at each of them for answers, but Percy merely gaped at him, Nico stared, and Will tried to collect enough words to push out an intelligible sentence.

"You really thought we'd let you go _alone_?" He asked in disbelief, his voice a lot softer and quieter than he would have thought, though Jason still shrunk back as if Will had yelled at him.

Nico made a high-pitched sound in the back of his throat, then he scrambled off the bed and rushed off towards his table.

"Well, it's _my_ responsibility to-…" Jason started to explain himself, then Percy interrupted him with a derisive snort, and Will scowled at him.

"Oh yeah? _Your responsibility_? So, wait, _you_ get to think your _boyfriends_ are going to let you embark on a death-bringing trip all by yourself, but _I_ don't get to exclude myself when Nico gets to take his boyfriend to his dad for a nice family meeting and you get to tag along because of _your responsibility_?" He asked accusingly, and Jason opened and closed his mouth as he seemed to try and think of a possible argument.

Suddenly, Nico whooshed past him and hopped back onto the bed, practically slamming some sort of paper into Jason's face.  
"You signed it, Jason! Read it! _Read it_ and look me in the face and tell me you _seriously thought we'd let you go alone_!"

Jason seemed dumbfounded, hands raised in some sort of defense as he tried to read the paper in front of him.

Will knew without looking that it was their IPOD-contract, though no matter how much he wanted to chime in with Nico's argument and emphasize this, he also knew he couldn't, since he wasn't following it, either.

Though that was for their own safety and peace of mind.

Still…Jason had really thought…but…how? They had never made a secret of it?

Nico pulled the paper back, looking close to tears as he gesticulated wildly, though only huffs escaped his lips for a long moment.

"But _why_?! We settled on this ages ago! Even before we came back from the Underworld…right? I thought we had a talk about this!" Nico exclaimed, looking at Will for verification, but Will couldn't actually _remember_ ever outright saying 'Oh yeah, Jason, we'll accompany you on your travels from here on out'.

"It was just something that went without saying. I mean, when we got together it was _obvious_ we'd go with you, but I kind of already thought we would, even before then…" He said quietly, and Nico gave a furious nod.

"See? Even _Will_ knew we'd travel together!"

Will scowled at him.

"Hey, what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Guys, please don't fight…" Jason put in awkwardly, looking conflicted and ashamed, and they both turned to glower at him.

Then, Will noticed with a jolt _Percy_ hadn't said a single thing so far, just sitting there and gazing at them with the saddest look on his face he had ever seen.

It was enough to give him pause.

What were they doing?

Jason was an idiot, yes, but what good would it do for them to get upset now?

"But that is _different_ , guys. This is dangerous! The last trip was more of a vacation, this one could get you killed!" Jason suddenly put in defensively, and Will and Nico instantly intensified their glowering.

He took it all back, they had every right to be upset.

"We are _always_ about to get killed, Jason. We're _demigods_. When is anything _not_ dangerous for us?" Nico retorted sharply, but Jason only made a face and shrank back further.

"And what sort of argument is that, anyways? You think we'll let _you_ go on a trip that could get you killed? If chances for death are that high, that's even more of a reason to bring us along." Will added, and Nico nodded.

"Exactly! You're gonna need a healer, and we'll be there to make sure all of us get there and back safely."

Will gestured towards Nico for emphasis.

 _Exactly_.

Sure, they wouldn't _all_ get back, but that was beside the point.

Seriously though!

Jason had thought they would just _stay here_?! Just like that?!

No wonder he had been so upset about having to leave!

No wonder he had acted as if he never wanted to let them go!

He must have thought these were his last few days with the guys, and that it might even be the last time he saw them!

Since Will knew that feeling only all too well, he also felt the sudden surge of dread as he jumped and retreated further away from them.

"Jason, tell me that is _not_ why you just had sex with me." He exclaimed, noticing his voice was more than just a little panicky, but this was _serious_.

Jason's head shot up, skin quickly paling.

" _No_! No, nothing like that! I would never…Will, get that thought right out of your head again, I swear!" He insisted, but Will didn't relax, and his thoughts didn't magically disappear, either.

"Why did you never say anything? Why did _we_ never say anything? This is it, we're all impossible." Nico ranted next to them as he slammed their contract on the cupboard next to the bed and wrapped his arms around his legs with a deep scowl on his face.

"Will. I'm serious." Jason insisted, reaching out for him with one hand, though Will pulled back, not feeling ready for any sort of physical contact just yet.

Jason dropped his hand again, looking conflicted and a little helpless.

For a long moment, there was silence.

"Guys?" Percy asked quietly, still sitting in his same spot and gazing down at his hands in his lap.

They looked around at him quietly, waiting for him to speak, though it took another moment for him to lift his head and look at them.

"You do know that if Jason didn't know, neither does Chiron, right? We'll have to ask him for permission to leave."

They stared at each other, processing Percy's words – then Nico and Will made matching sounds of distress and tried to scramble out of the bed.

 _Chiron_!

They had to tell Chiron!

The sooner, the better!

Arms wrapped around Will and Nico simultaneously, and they both looked around in confusion as Percy pulled them both back and _threw them back onto the bed_.

"Percy!" "Hey!"

"You can leave in a moment. First…" Percy started, and they both stilled and stared at him, taking in his blank expression and his serious tone.

Percy nodded towards Jason.

"First, you hug and make up. I get that you're upset, I'm upset, too, but that's no excuse. Look at him, he's hurting."

Nico's face flushed, while Will tried very hard _not_ to look towards Jason, disturbed and bewildered that he was getting lectured by his own boyfriend – and _Percy_ , to boot.

"Percy, I'm okay. I just…I didn't expect…I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry." Jason mumbled, also not looking at them, and Will's heart ached.

He gave Nico a nudge to get him to go and hug Jason, but Nico nudged him right back and shot him a look that said 'You first!'.

Great.

Will hesitated a moment longer, then caved in and moved forward, trying to brace himself for the physical contact, though nothing prepared him for the high amount of discomfort and shame that coursed through Jason when he finally did wrap his arms around him.

"Oh Jason…" He whispered and tugged him closer, while Jason started and stopped in his faint attempt to tell him he didn't have to do this.

He did have to do this.

Nico followed suite, first seeming a tad awkward, though the moment the three of them were holding each other, it was easy to fall back into old patterns, their faces disappearing to their favorite spots, their limbs entangling to grant more comfort.

Percy joined in last and held them the tightest, and Will was initially surprised by his pain, especially since Percy hadn't said anything.

"Okay, let's make it official, so none of us can misinterpret that in the future: We are going together. Wherever it is, whenever it is, whatever is at risk, none of us are going on any freaking quest or journey or trip by themselves, you got it?" Nico ranted, though he was already feeling a lot less agitated.

"Okay." "Agreed."

Jason and Percy murmured quietly, while Will merely held them and closed his eyes.

"Will?" Nico asked, clearly demanding his agreement as well.

"Where would I ever go?" He replied, trying to make it sound like a joke.

"Just promise you won't exclude yourself at any given point, sunshine." Nico retorted unimpressed, and Will smiled.

Yeah, he could promise that anytime.

"I promise, love. Now, who is in for some comfort-kisses?"

"Jason." Nico and Percy immediately replied before Jason even opened his mouth, and Will pressed his lips to his boyfriend's cheek.

"What a troublemaker you are. Do you really think we would survive without you? Who would Percy smuggle all his vegetables to if you were gone?" He chided, though he gave him a peck on the lips a moment later to show they were okay now.

"He's absolutely right." Percy confirmed with a serious nod.

"I want comfort-kisses, too." Nico sulked, and both Jason and Will gave him matching pecks on the cheek from both sides, making him smile again.

Percy nudged and poked at them until they were back in their former position, snuggled together and their legs entangled, the fan finally blowing cool air towards them, though who knew for how long.

Will let out a loud, long sigh.

"Alright, I say this was enough drama for the day. Nah, the _week_. Who's with me?"

Three hands raised into the air, and he smiled.

Alright, now they only had to survive the meeting with Chiron.

...

He was not surprised.

The moment he had spotted Will Solace, Percy Jackson, Jason Grace and Nico di Angelo marching towards him with determined expressions, he had already known what they wanted.

"No." Chiron replied and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

What were they thinking?

How could they expect him to let _all four of them_ go, at a time like this?

"Yes." Nico insisted, and Chiron let out a deep sigh, studying the stern frown on the boy's face.

Stubborn as usual.

"I know it is Jason's duty to finish the contract, and I am thrilled to hear you have a lead and are ready to leave. However, I fail to see how any of that relates to two more children of the Big Three _and_ the Camp's Head Medic leaving alongside you." He replied, and promptly received even darker glowers from Will and Nico, while Percy seemed to sulk, and Jason looked conflicted.

"We have to make sure he gets there and back safe and sound, of course. It makes sense!" Nico explained, but that had to be the weakest argument he could have thought of.

Chiron's tail swished with agitation, though he tried to remain calm.

"The Camps are in discourse, five more satyrs have stopped sending updates and are now considered missing, several areas where demigods have last been seen have been found demolished. Monster attacks are happening far more frequently than ever before, and with even less warning or trace than ever before. Camp Jupiter has confirmed they have suffered from attacks already, even with the newly formed boundaries, so it is only a matter of time until Camp Half-Blood will be targeted the same way. All of that is happening, and you still expect me to send the three strongest warriors _and_ the best healer out there? You are leaving the Camp practically defenseless." He replied, and now Jason looked even more conflicted than before, while Percy and Will looked to the ground.

Nico, however, seemed as feisty as he had been when he had insisted on following his sister.

Though Chiron had a hunch he wouldn't step down this time, especially since he had ended up losing Bianca the last time.

"Percy and I have trained the newcomers and other campers the past months and they have made great progress. There are enough great warriors in Camp. If anything, you might want to work on your defenses, if you're so worried about attacks on the Camp borders. This is not a walk in the park, and we get that this is serious, but so is Jason's contract. You send him out there with ten kids and no healer, practically telling him to either make it on his own or he'll simply end up dead, as if it's none of your concern." Nico bit back at him, venom in his words and fire in his eyes that Chiron had seen many times before, in other kids just like him.

"Jason has decided to take the responsibility of the contract upon himself. It is not that I don't care, it's that I can't just send everybody along with him just because they feel like it's a good idea."

"We're not 'everybody', though! Then keep some of the other kids, and we'll go alone. Just the four of us. Will that make you feel better?" Nico snapped at him, and Chiron took a step back.

Oh, Nico had no idea.

"Far from it. But no matter, I can't give my okay to this, and I must ask you to contain your anger, Mr. Di Angelo. I know you're upset, but…" He started, but then Nico shot him a livid look that gave him pause.

"Don't you 'Mr. Di Angelo' me. You _owe_ us!" He exclaimed, and Chiron's tail swished again.

 _That_ again.

"Don't even give me that face. You know I'm right. You messed up. You were _there_ and you didn't do shit, and then Jason _told_ you what had happened and you _still_ let that creep stay here!" Nico ranted, and Chiron watched as Will withdrew, looking uncomfortable and refusing to meet his eyes, while Jason and Percy exchanged a telling look.

"Yes, I admit that was not the wisest thing to do, but I needed to make sure-…"

" _Bullshit_!" Nico cut in, looking as agitated as the first time he had confronted Chiron about this.

"Nico." Will said quietly, and Nico immediately turned to look at him, the agitation making way for concern immediately.

Chiron glanced down at their hands entwining, then waited whether either of them would speak again.

Will did.

Chiron wished it would have been Nico, because his arguments were easier to deal with.

"You and I both know we'll leave, no matter if we get your agreement or not. Percy has a knack for rule-breaking, and, as Nico said, Jason definitely needs a healer. Feel free to ask my cabin for any volunteers, but you'll find none of the healers in there will want to leave Camp." Will said confidently, and Chiron looked out over the Camp grounds with clenched jaw.

Of course his siblings wouldn't volunteer to leave, they would stand behind their head medic and support him with all they had, no matter the consequences.

"Also, if you give us the okay to leave, I'll tell you that I already knew that because I know for a fact the four of us are going to travel together and reach Washington DC safe and sound." Will added, and while Percy and Nico immediately shot Will dark and accusing looks and Jason sighed loudly, Chiron studied the boy's face intently.

What was it with this boy?

He had never really caught Chiron's attention, had always done what had been asked of him and a little more, had never complained and had done everything in his power to keep everything peaceful and calm.

Then, suddenly, he had started speaking up and picked fights with other campers over Nico di Angelo, defending him and urging others to give him a chance.

Suddenly, Will had been a victim of rape and abuse that had gone unnoticed for years even though it was now clearly visible he was still struggling with it.

Suddenly, he was defying Chiron and acting up worse than the biggest troublemakers Chiron had met in his rather long past.

Suddenly, he was also one of the only ones unwilling to share _anything_ on his condition with Chiron, unless he could get something back for it that wasn't just advice.

"If you have seen that, have you also seen the winning argument you used to get my okay with?" He asked, but Will seemed nonchalant as he studied his fingernails.

"I just used it." He stated unimpressed, and Chiron guessed he shouldn't have been surprised.

Chiron looked back out over the Camp grounds with a heavy sigh, watching the usual buzzing of the Campers.

In a way, he knew what Will said was true.

They would leave, no matter if Chiron gave his okay or not.

They were young and in love and foolish.

But so had others been before them, and everyone had to make their own experiences.

If they left, then he'd prefer it to be on his terms and with them still sending regular updates, so he wouldn't lose another group of children to the cruel world and its monsters.

Plus, if Will had truly _seen_ part of the future, and that future wanted him out there, then maybe it had to be that way.

Without oracle and prophecies, there was no other way for them to know what was meant to be and what wasn't, after all, not in the way they were used to.

Not until they had the results in from the people currently with the Harpy and studying the remnants of the Latin texts and prophecies, anyways.

He turned back towards the four, just to find two more next to them.

Annabeth had her arms crossed in front of her chest, a stern look on her face.

Piper was next to her, a matching look on hers, and her fingers tapping her arms impatiently.

Chiron let out another deep, deep sigh.

Will and Nico smirked.

He gave a small nod and a wave of his hand.

"Very well. Go on your merry way, then. But I demand updates on your whereabouts twice a week, and you will return here or to Camp Jupiter in case of emergencies _immediately_ , am I clear?" He stated, but they were already whooping and had their arms around each other before the first syllables had even passed his lips.

Kids these days.

Annabeth and Piper gave pleased nods, but Chiron still wasn't sure this was a good idea.

He had already lost enough campers because of bad decisions, he didn't want to add even more to that.

No matter what they might think, he cared for these kids. All of them.

Seeing Kyle after believing him dead for so long had given him a sort of hope there was a way for more demigods to make it out there – but that hope hadn't lasted long, for obvious reasons.

It had been foolish of him to let the boy stay, he knew that much now.

He had endangered not only Will, but all the other campers with that action, as well, all because he had so selfishly believed there was a chance Jason _had_ misinterpreted, that Kyle was _not_ the monster he had been made out to be.

But it had been in vain.

Chiron let them enjoy their happiness and trotted away, looking out into the distance, where the water glittered in the sunlight and the world seemed at peace, though it was only an illusion.

There was never any peace, not for demigods, and not for Chiron.

And everyone he put his hopes into either ended up dead, injured or was swept away by the dark, seduced by promises that were too good to be true and ruined the balance that was necessary to keep the world going.

He used to have such high hopes for Luke, but it hadn't done any of them any good.

He might have died a hero, but at what price?

Now, Kyle, his momentary hope for demigods to _live_ , was one of those they would have to face in battle, by the looks of it.

It made him dread for Percy, which was another reason why he had hoped to keep him here, at least.

But Percy didn't want to stay, didn't want to fight, and if he didn't get a choice, he would either get destroyed or destroy himself, Will had explained that much to him already.

Chiron was still learning to understand those words, though he also dreaded the day he _would_ understand them.

Now, all he could hope for was that Will had not only seen their safe and sound arrival in Washington DC, but also their return, and the peace of both Camps in the future.

But since Chiron knew the Fates never made it that easy, he highly doubted it.

...

"Wait, we're leaving _tomorrow_?! How the hell did it turn from 'in a few days' to _tomorrow_?!" Percy exclaimed in utmost disbelief as Jason sat with his head in his hands at the dinner table, seeming at his wits end, while Will sat next to him and patted his back in apparent consolation.

Nico sighed deeply and took Jason's other side to help, though he also wanted to tell Jason he had brought it upon himself.

(In a way.)

"Guys, I was only gone for ten minutes, how did you manage to shorten our last peaceful days at Camp to…none?!" Percy whined, and Jason's head hit the table.

Will made a sound of alarm, then smacked the back of Jason's head.

"Idiot! I've told you a hundred times already not to do that anymore, not until I give you my okay. Did I give you my okay? _No_ , I did _not_! Don't you dare hurt that pretty head of yours, or so the gods help me!" He ranted agitatedly while Jason mumbled his apologies and tried to regain Will's favor by slouching against him and begging for kisses.

He was…quite beside himself.

Nico wasn't surprised.

He himself felt more drained than he had been in a long time, and since he had kept up his training regarding his powers, that certainly said a lot about today.

"Come on, let's go back to the cabin. It's not like any of us are hungry right now, anyways. We can just come back later." He suggested, but then Percy clasped his hands, shooting him his best puppy face.

" _Wait_! Nobody told me how the hell you made it so that we have to leave _tomorrow_!"

Oh. Oops.

"Well, since Jason went to us first instead of his travel companions, the news of their departure reached them from the usual rumor tellers, and those said tomorrow. So, all of them got everything packed and done and contacted a few groups we're supposed to meet on the way, including a satyr with two campers who are currently trying to make their way back to the Camp, but it's not going very rosy. They're hoping we'll reach them before the monsters will, so that kind of strengthened the need for a quick departure." Nico summed up for Jason, who had successfully regained Will's affection and was now clearly basking in it.

"Oh." Percy said with a crushed expression as his shoulders sagged in disappointed acceptance, and Nico sighed and got up.

"Come on, let's go back." He repeated, and his guys made to follow him – until Will suddenly tugged on his arm, looking sheepish.

"Actually…could we…erm…would it be okay if we…" He faltered slightly, which was unusual for Will, and Nico frowned at him, trying to see what was wrong.

Percy and Jason glanced at him as well, both clearly thrown off by that behavior.

"Yes?" Nico probed tentatively when Will didn't continue, and his boyfriend looked towards the Apollo table.

"Would it be okay if we spend the night at the Apollo cabin? I mean…I know it will be quite crowded and we'll probably not get even half as much rest as we would in our cabin, but…"

Oh.

 _Oh_!

"Of course!" "Sure!" "Will, of course we can do that! I'm so sorry I didn't think of that, myself!"

Jason, Percy and Nico immediately rushed to agree, and Will let out a sigh of relief, though Nico couldn't see how he could have possibly expected anything else.

 _Of course,_ they could stay at his cabin tonight.

It would be his last night with his siblings for quite a while, after all.

Plus, Nico _had_ promised them a sleepover, anyways, so this was the perfect opportunity to follow up on that, too.

"Thanks, guys. We don't have to go there now, though. I can just let them know later. So, if you want to go back to our cabin, we can totally do that." Will rushed to explain when they started walking again, and Nico was surprised by how nervous Will seemed to be about this.

Maybe because Nico had acted so pained and unhappy when they had spent that night in the Aphrodite cabin (well, most of that night, anyways) with the Truth or Dare game and all?

But Will knew Nico liked his siblings, so that couldn't be the reason, right?

"Then I'd suggest we first go back to the cabin and finish up packing, so we won't have to do that in the wee hours tomorrow, and your siblings won't be too surprised if we suddenly stand in the doorway." Percy suggested and was met with their murmured agreement, the four of them making their way towards the cabins – just to see Kayla, Austin and Alec near the trees, though they stopped dead when they spotted them, their expression turning to ones of horror.

What?

Percy waved at them, while Will stopped and looked as confused as Nico felt when the three of them waved back awkwardly and started walking backwards into the forest again.

"What are they up to?" Nico asked, though he instantly had to think back to that talk between Jason and him from a while ago.

They didn't _actually_ get them anything, right?

Plus, they were about to leave, it would be kind of pointless to give them anything, right?

Nico felt squeamish and glanced towards Jason, who shot him a matching look, though they both shrugged in unison, not knowing what to do about it.

It was clear the Apollo kids weren't willing to spill the beans just yet, seeing as they were now once more gone from sight.

Will frowned a moment longer, but if he was waiting for a vision or the like to clear things up, it seemed he was waiting in vain.

"Well, that was weird. Come on, let's get back. We can play _Rock Paper Scissors_ later to determine who has to bring them the great news." Percy said and clapped his hands together, pulling them all out of their thoughts, and Jason muttered in agreement as he started ushering them forward once more.

Nico frowned.

"Are we seriously going to solve every choice we face by playing _Rock Paper Scissors_?" He asked incredulously, thinking of all the things they had used that game for by now.

"Yes." His three boyfriends replied in unison, then started laughing, before Jason thoughtfully began pointing out all the things that _wouldn't_ be able to be solved by a game – which in turn made Nico laugh.

By the time they reached their cabin and started packing, Percy was complaining about always winning that game, because they hadn't only managed to settle who had to tell Will's siblings, but also who would work off the checklist Jason and Nico had made with all their essentials for the trip and who would have the first carrying duty of their old and run-down tent – and of course Percy had the luck to win each time.

Poor guy.

Nico's thoughts drifted back to the Apollo cabin, wondering whether he shouldn't offer to go in Percy's place, just to get some clarity on their behavior.

Not because Percy wouldn't notice – he often noticed even more than Nico or the others did, to be honest – but so he could find some peace of mind for himself.

But Percy seemed the most pleased with that duty, so he didn't offer.

The Apollo kids were busy kids. He was probably just reading too much into it.

There was most likely a very reasonable explanation for everything – an explanation that _definitely_ wouldn't have anything to do with a gift of any sort.

.

The Apollo kids got them a gift.

Nico had trouble processing that info as everyone was buzzing about around him, setting up their…gift.

It was a tent.

 _A tent._

The entire Apollo cabin had worked together with Leo, a couple of Hecate and Hephaestus kids, Annabeth and Piper – to build them a tent.

Nico was a little – _very_ – overwhelmed.

As was Will, who was standing next to him dumbfounded and slack mouthed as he watched his siblings rush around to get the thing set up.

Needless to say, it was no ordinary tent, though that alone would have already been enough to make Nico's heart explode in his chest, because _there was absolutely no reason for this_ , yet these people _still did it_!

Why?

What had they done to deserve this?

Nico knew he had talked to Alec about this, but they had practically taken Will _away_ from this cabin, _why were theygiving them gifts_?!

Will was crying.

He just stood there, next to him, his mouth still open, and after the first silent tear ran down his cheek, others quickly followed.

Nico looked at him a little helplessly, unsure of what to do, whether he should distract him, or try to comfort, though he also couldn't be sure whether these were tears of joy, or whether he was crying because he'd miss them, or they were tears of regret because he hadn't spent enough time with them – or maybe there was a different reason altogether, Nico had no way of knowing unless he asked.

But since he knew how much Will hated being seen crying, he didn't want to draw any attention to them by speaking up, so he didn't.

Percy and Jason were helping setting the tent up, which was supposed to be 'very simple', but since the tent was meant for the _outside_ , not a crammed, way too small cabin, that seemed to complicate matters, and half the kids present had to clear up enough space and stack random objects and instruments on top of each other along the walls.

Jason looked over as if he felt Nico's glance, and when his gaze fell on Will, his eyebrows furrowed in concern and he nudged Percy, who looked over as well and was in front of Will in a heartbeat, wiping his tears away and having a very hushed conversation not even Nico could overhear, even though he was right next to them.

Shouldn't he have done that?

He probably should have, though he was also glad Percy was the one comforting Will – he was much better at that than Nico, at least in a situation such as this.

Nico awkwardly stepped forward, trying to get to the spot Percy had abandoned to pick up where he had left off, but another child of Apollo had already taken his place.

It was a beautiful tent.

Of course, since it was made by the Apollo kids, it could have looked like rags on a stick and Nico would have still found it beautiful, but in this case, it truly was impeccable and beautiful.

It also didn't look like a tent at all, even though it did.

Nico had seen hundreds of tents thanks to the four of them considering buying a newer and _bigger_ one for their future travels, but now he was glad they hadn't, because nothing could have competed with this beauty.

He had no idea what fabric it was made of, but the thing had the most beautiful dark color he could imagine, seeming black at first glance, but changing to a sort of shimmering dark blue or green, depending on what angle one looked at it.

Nico was pretty sure there might be even more colors once it was exposed to actual sunlight.

It was also rather big, but not too big to draw too much attention to itself immediately (if the coloring didn't, already).

There were sticks used to hold it up, though once the tent was upright, it didn't look that way at all anymore, rather resembling what might have as well been a miniature one-room building.

He had heard Austin saying something about magic-infused wood for the sticks, and looking at the construction in front of him, he knew more than just the sticks had magic in it.

Alec found his way next to him, smiling proudly, apparently oblivious to Will and Percy and their rather emotional exchange.

Then again, by now, Percy was holding Will gently with his hands rubbing soothing circles over his back, while Will had his face hidden from view, so that might be a little less ominous than Will crying openly in the middle of his cabin.

"So? What do you think so far, bro-in-law? Pretty neat, isn't it? We all had to work pretty hard to get everything needed for it. Leo did most of the building, though Annabeth helped with the planning. We did smuggle in a few little extras, though. Just you wait until you see the inside. You're going to love it." Alec babbled, clearly excited and nervous, though the news there was supposed to be something to look at _inside a tent that was just being set up_ had Nico frowning.

"You know you didn't have to do this, right…?" He asked carefully, trying not to sound rude or ungrateful.

Alec didn't even look at him as he raised an arm to clap him on the shoulder, a lopsided grin on his face as he watched his siblings – _all_ of his siblings – disappear inside a tent that looked like it couldn't hold more than six people at the same time.

Nico stared, his mind trying to explain the inexplicable.

"Oh, but we _did_. You were driving us crazy, you know? We wanted to get you _something_ , so you'd know we're behind you, that we'll always be with you, especially Will, as our brother. But we had no idea _what_. First, we were thinking about a new bed, since yours is – no offense – just _so freaking small_!"

Nico closed his eyes, amazed and disturbed he and Jason had actually guessed right.

A hundred arguments came to mind.

Nico said none of them.

"But then we realized you'll be travelling a lot soon – well, by now, it's _now_ , I guess – so a bed seemed stupid. As did all other furniture and tools and whatnot. At one point, we wanted to build you a super cool mini-fridge with freezer and all these super high-tech options, so you could have some peace during your meals and make it seem more like normal, domestic life. Don't tell Leo I told you, but he already has three different designs ready for testing, so hit him up whenever you're interested." Alec happily told him, and Nico opened and closed his mouth, trying to stomach that info.

His heart did strange things in his chest, and he started feeling warm all over.

For once, it wasn't lust or that absolute love he felt for his boyfriends.

It felt different.

It also reminded him faintly of Bianca, but it still wasn't quite the same.

"Another option was a lube-dispenser laced with magic so it never runs out, but we kind of got kicked out of the Hecate cabin once we suggested that." Alec added as an afterthought, and Nico automatically sputtered.

"Then there was the idea of jewelry. We wanted to give you guys something more personal, like those cheesy pendants with pictures on the inside. Austin had it all planned out already and we even managed to take a picture with all of us on it. Unfortunately, with so many people, and the pendants having a maximum size that – as we had to find out the hard way – shouldn't be exceeded, the picture looked like shit and all the faces were just blots of color, so we threw that idea out the window, too." Alec mused, sounding a bit disappointed, though he grinned a moment later again, the smug look reappearing on his face.

"And then, I thought of this beauty. I'm a genius. You'll _love_ it. Ah, here they come. Okay, ready to go inside?" He asked excitedly when the tent's entrance opened and his siblings came back out, while Nico blinked in confusion, staring in incomprehension just like Jason did.

How had they all fit in there, and how had they spent a good minute in there – all of them, together – without actually nudging any of the walls of the tent? Nothing had moved.

A little reluctant, he glanced towards Percy and Will, but they were still hugging, so he looked towards Jason, just to have him gaze back at him with a similar look, and both of them gave little shrugs to show they had no idea what expected them, but they trusted Will's siblings.

Alec motioned them both forward, and the other Apollo kids snickered at his enthusiasm and held the tent's entrance open, which allowed them to see…light?

"Did you guys ever read or watch Harry Potter?" Jason asked warily, and Nico tried to recall what he knew of that series, though he knew it wasn't nearly as much as his friends knew, especially because he couldn't remember anything tent-related.

Alec's grin widened.

"Way too many times, man. You're gonna love this, I keep telling you. Calypso helped a little, too, to make the whole thing practically indestructible." He told them proudly and poked his head inside the tent, before pulling back and stepping aside for them to get inside first.

"Will? Percy? You wanna check it out, too?" Alec asked towards their boyfriends, and Nico turned his head, but Percy signaled them with a shake of his head that he and Will would need a moment longer.

Nobody asked, nobody pried, nobody tried to come closer or disturb the two in any way, which Nico was grateful for, same as he was glad nobody seemed to take it personally that Will wasn't his usual overjoyed self.

In fact, all of his siblings looked rather sympathetic and understanding as they shot each other knowing looks, before the lot of them returned their attention to Nico and Jason, trying to usher them inside the tent quicker with gestures and clicks of their tongues.

Finally giving in, Nico took a deep breath and stepped inside – and promptly released the breath, quickly followed by a startled, disbelieving sound.

Jason and Alec followed right after, Jason's eyes widening at the sight, while Alec watched them with glee and triumph.

"And?" He asked, clearly waiting for them to tell them the Apollo cabin was the best.

Because, well, it absolutely _was_.

For inexplicable reasons, the tent was a lot _bigger_ on the inside than the outside, almost as big as Nico's room, though without bathroom, and there was only one bed, which was very low to the ground, but in return at least double the size of their bed in their cabin.

What amazed Nico even more than the space and the _bed_ though, was the fact there was even more interior.

A small table, a set of chairs around it. A drawer. A closet.

How?

How were they supposed to transport this?

How had this even worked?

Nico had _seen_ them setting the tent up, the fabric had been entirely flat on the cabin floor, where had the furniture come from?

Where would it go?

That tent would have to weigh _tons_.

Nico didn't understand, and he still didn't know what it had to do with Harry Potter, but it sure looked like magic to him, so maybe it was that.

"Pretty neat, isn't it? Aww, look at you, you're speechless." Alec teased good-naturedly, and Nico glanced sideways at Jason, who looked as stunned and impressed as he was.

"So, as I said, this thing is pretty much indestructible. I wouldn't recommend to stay in here during a monster attack or the like, but if you're outside and something tramples it or you drop this thing down a hill or _whatever_ – this room is pretty much gonna stay the exact same, unless you wreak havoc on it from the inside. The outside is infused with special fiber, so it won't tear, and the Hecate kids helped to bind the mist to it, so that will help you greatly when you're camping. It won't hide you from monsters, but any mortals that might stumble over you won't see you, nor anything magical or unusual around you in a good five to ten feet radius, depending on the terrain and the time of day." Alec suddenly launched into his explanation, clearly itching to come out with all the details.

"It's quite easy to set up, unlike to what you just witnessed, but hey, this thing is meant to be set up _outside_ , so there's that. Taking it down is even simpler. For convenience, there's a button you can press, and the whole thing will clap together and fold neatly into an easily carried backpack, same as you saw in the very beginning, when Kayla showed it to you. It _can't_ close when there's anybody left inside, though. We tried to work around that, but then figured it might be better to leave that bug there to prevent _anybody else_ from getting you stuck in here and carrying off that tent. It weighs close to nothing, thanks to Leo's and his siblings' craftsmanship, some magic, and Calypso's singing, though I can't vouch whether anything you add later might change that, so it could very well be that if you accumulate a lot of things on your travels for whatever reason, they might add an overall weight." Alec explained, gesticulating and pointing, his eyes still gleaming as he looked from them to the interior of their new tent and back.

"Did you all make everything here yourself?" Jason asked, clearly impressed when he smoothed his hand out over the small desk, _almost_ identical to the one Nico had in his cabin, the one he usually had overflowing with the most random things and papers.

When Jason opened the drawer beneath it curiously, they peeked inside to find an assortment of pens and papers inside, as well as rulers and knives and some scissors.

Everything looked new.

No matter if they built it themselves or bought it, this must have cost a fortune.

A fortune the Apollo kids – with or without help from other campers, or even the entire rest of the camp – definitely did _not_ have.

Guilt gnawed at Nico, thinking of the riches his father had given him access to, of the credit card he held that practically came without a limit to it, and the other two just like it.

Hades might have never taught Nico how to handle money, but Bianca had, and her sense of righteousness had always kept him from spending his funds senselessly.

Right now, though, he wanted nothing more than to take all of that money and shove it into the Apollo cabin, so they could waste it all on anything they liked.

They would deserve it.

"We _did_. At first, we thought we would have to do everything completely on our own, which of course made everything a lot more difficult, since we wouldn't have been able to produce anything even half as good as this. Back then, we only had Lou Ellen as daughter of Hecate, so it was her, us, and Cecil. We even started on a tent once we knew that's what we wanted to really build, but…let's just say you don't want to see _that thing_. Anyways, Annabeth found us, and told us to ask Leo. Bless her soul, seriously. We never had much to do with Leo, but he _loved_ our idea, and was all fired up to help – quite literally." Alec told them elatedly, his entire body seemingly vibrating as he beamed at them.

Nico found himself leaning against Jason, the feeling in his chest making it difficult to breathe.

He felt like he was going to explode.

Jason put an arm around him, stroking along his side and giving his hip a reassuring squeeze.

Why would they do this? For them?

If they had just fixed something for Will, Nico would understand, would love the idea, but why would they get something – _create_ something – for _them_?!

He didn't understand.

"He only asked us to pay for the materials and help with the smaller stuff, so, while Calypso and Cecil did the scouring for offers and did all the calculating, we built all the things _in_ here. Except the A/C, lights and the heating system. That was Leo's, of course." Alec explained, and now that he mentioned it, Nico was stunned to realize there was a sort of breeze going through this…room…even though there was no window.

Then again, there was also the light Nico had just stupidly accepted in his awe for the…room.

Glancing up, he was met with a similar view to the one in his own cabin, and his head swam with the realization Leo must have been building this after he had installed their A/C – which meant it hadn't even been that long ago, but also meant that they must have worked on this for quite some time, since he was pretty sure they first had to get the rest of the tent together until they could bother with the interior of it.

"We tried to get him to fix the bed for us, because we _clearly_ messed up – as you can see just by looking at it." Alec said, and his voice was a tiny bit less proud and a lot more bitter now, his gaze hushing towards the low-levelled bed.

Jason and Nico were next to it immediately, flopping down onto it to test out the mattress.

It was a much more noticeable fall compared to the one Nico was used to from their bed, but other than that, it felt perfectly okay.

"What's wrong with it?" He and Jason asked in unison, while Alec seemed initially surprised by their reaction, blinking at them from where he still stood.

"Well, it's so _low_. We had issues reading the instructions on the internet, so we messed up with the measurements. By the time we noticed our mistake, we knew there was no way to fix it, but to either tear it down completely and start anew, or to get Leo to help. Since we had no spare parts, we couldn't do the first, but Leo refused to see anything wrong with it and said mistakes give things their charm." Alec said the last part with a frown, seeming disappointed their gift wasn't as perfect as he would have liked.

Nico couldn't understand his concerns whatsoever.

"This is the best bed I have ever sat on." He said loudly, a statement that was both a lie and the truth.

A lie, because he knew the 'best' bed there was had to be the one in their room in the Underworld.

The truth, because Will's siblings had made this bed for them by themselves, and their hard work and effort made this the most precious and wonderful bed Nico would ever sleep in.

Alec stared at him for a moment, seeming speechless, though it should be Nico and Jason who were speechless, not him.

Then, his eyes narrowed.

"Are you going to cry, too, di Angelo? We knew Will would, but _you_?"

Nico huffed indignantly, willing away the stinging of his eyes as much as he could.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He retorted, though Jason shot him a glance that told him he knew how close Nico was.

It would be inappropriate for him to cry.

He wouldn't cry of joy for the gift, but from the overwhelming feeling of _family_.

Will's siblings, with all their quirks and noisiness, were _family_.

A part of _Nico's_ family.

And he had never really thought of it that way before.

Sure, they got along. Sure, he liked them. Sure, they jokingly called him brother-in-law even though he wasn't married to their brother yet.

But it had never truly registered they weren't _friends_ , but _family_.

That, to Nico, changed _everything_.

Alec studied his face for a moment longer, then cleared his throat and averted his gaze, but whether that was out of respect for Nico as his eyes brimmed with unshed tears, or because he wasn't sure how to handle the situation, Nico didn't know.

"Anyways…where was I? Ah, yes, the bed. Since we couldn't get the lube-dispenser, we got all the trial packs and different flavors from Will's favorite brands instead. They're in the bedside table. As are condoms. Don't be surprised, we had a little _perfectionist_ in the group who just _had_ to sort them by color and kind and put them neatly into a sock organizer. Don't worry, everything is labeled." Alec continued, and Nico's eyes widened as his face flushed crimson at the implication _they were going to have sex_ on their travels, and the entire Apollo cabin knew it – and supported it.

Nico still faintly remembered the day Will had seemed so flustered and adamant about telling his siblings they hadn't had sex, and how Nico had felt so calm and composed back then, laughing to himself at his dismay.

Now, he felt as if he had laughed too soon, because this had to be the most awkward thing in the world.

Jason did the unspeakable and leaned forward to tug open the bedside table, even as Nico gesticulated wildly for him _not_ to do so.

When he saw the overfilling cupboard, Nico involuntarily squeaked and evacuated the bed, ending up in the opposite corner of the room with his hands in his face and his entire body burning with mortification.

This was _just_ like the time they had been in the Underworld, and Jason and Will had been aware of the condoms in the bedside table, aware of the decreasing number, and aware of the fact Percy and he were using them.

Just that this was a hundred times worse, because these kids were now the equivalent of his own brothers and sisters, and he would have died of mortification if _Bianca_ had ever mentioned anything about his sex life, same as he would have never even dreamed of speaking to her about _hers_.

"Dude, are you _shy_? Hey, Nico, _you_ were the one telling me you guys _sleep naked_." Alec said defensively, though he also sounded a tad uncertain, while Jason appeared behind Nico and put his hands on his shoulders, attempting to massage out the tension.

"That's _different_! I'm from a different time! Back when I was born, sex was…was… _filthy_ , okay? Knowing your…your siblings…or parents…no. Just, _no_." He tried to explain, and Jason halted for a moment, probably remembering all the times Nico was the one initiating things these days, as well as his plea for more, as well as his tries to make the most of their time and try the most.

He knew he was the most curious one, the one – as Will had said – with the highest sex-drive.

But that didn't mean he had been raised that way, same as he hadn't been raised to be gay.

It was simply who he was, and Nico found himself embracing that side of himself more and more in the comfort of their relationship – he simply didn't want it _that_ out in the open, and the thought of _everyone_ knowing about their intimacies made him recoil automatically.

Apparently, today was not a good day for him, else he knew he wouldn't be half as embarrassed about this.

"That…actually, that makes sense. I always wondered why you reacted the way you did whenever people talked about sex. That would explain your discomfort during the Truth or Dare game, too. Why didn't you say anything, man? We'd have taken that into consideration." Alec asked, not sounding accusing whatsoever, but confused.

Nico blinked, taken aback by that statement.

"I didn't know it made you that uncomfortable." Jason muttered quietly behind him, too.

His chest suddenly felt awfully tight at the thought Jason might misinterpret this as a sign the guys had overstepped the line in the past.

They might have come close to it, but ultimately, Nico wasn't upset about it, even _glad_ for it, because it had somehow, inexplicably, drawn the four of them closer together and deepened their bond, the comfort between them, which had all led up to a _them_ , so he _definitely_ wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

"It's not like that. I'm mostly okay with it now. It's just…unusual. Takes time to get used to it." He mumbled awkwardly and lowered his hands once he thought his face had stopped burning.

"Well, just tell me next time if you still feel that uncomfortable. Or Kayla. We're family, we're there for each other, man. No need to push it. Games are supposed to be fun." Alec said quietly, and the way he _confirmed_ they were a family had Nico's throat constrict immediately again.

How had he never realized this before?

He must have realized this before, must have thought of it, must have seen the way their relationship had changed from acquaintances to 'friends' to _family_.

Nico blindly pointed towards the drawer.

"That's a pretty drawer." He said, mostly to say _something_ , and Alec let out a proud hum as he rushed towards it and patted the surface lovingly.

"I know, right? We took the liberty of filling it up with some essentials – which of course means snacks, games, some medical stuff for Will, maps and some books we thought Will might like or need. We didn't know what you'd like and had no chance to ask, so we figured we'd leave that be, since we're all dyslexic and only Will is self-destructive enough to read." Alec explained, opening the drawers to check the contents, even though Jason and Nico weren't close enough to look inside.

"That's really cool." Nico said honestly, and Alec beamed at him.

"You think so? Glad you liked it. Also, I noticed from the sketch Leo made of your room that you have a water fountain, so we had Jake Mason build one, too. It's probably not quite as fancy, but we put in some color-changing lights and did our best to infuse the water with our best hymns. It's not much, but it should be enough to have a calming effect on whoever touches it. You probably shouldn't drink it, though. I don't know. I mean, it's not gonna harm anyone, but it probably won't taste that great, since the thing built to recirculate the water over and over again without access to new one." Alec mused, his expression turning thoughtful as he gazed from the small and slender water fountain to the tent wall, as if contemplating whether he could somehow manage said access to new water.

"It's perfect, thank you. Percy will be thrilled." Jason said hurriedly, and Nico slumped against him in gratitude for talking, because he was too busy being overwhelmed again.

Alec showed them the rest their new tent had to offer, which included the wardrobe and another slim drawer, as well as the skull Nico had seen Leo carry oh so long ago, back when he and Jason had taken him to their cabin for the A/C.

It had struck him as odd, back then, Leo with that weird skull.

But it had never occurred to him it might end up being a _gift_ for _them_.

As it was, said skull was basically a remote control for the entire room, which meant they just had to flip it open and a bunch of buttons presented themselves to them, for the lights, the temperature, the breeze, the noise, everything.

There was even the option to open a Hot-Spot for some internet, which struck Nico as odd and thus horribly Leo-like.

At Jason's question whether this would lure monsters in quicker, Alec explained to them that Calypso had done her best to cloud everything in the tent as well as she could, as had the Hecate kids, but they couldn't guarantee a 100% safety.

Then again, they all knew there _was_ no 100% safety, not in this world, not in their lives, not for a single day, especially not outside the Camp borders.

They did their little tour, and Jason complimented each and everything Alec showed them, allowing Nico to agree with him without taking over the conversation in any way.

He was more than a little grateful for that, hoping he'd get the chance to say thanks to Jason later in private somewhere, maybe along with some kisses.

They were about to leave the tent to rejoin Will and Percy, the noises outside dimmed but not inaudible, as Alec had told them the tent was only soundproof from one side (something that would definitely come in handy for Will's nightmares) – when Alec halted in front of the entrance for a moment, looking contemplative.

Then, he turned towards them again, his eyes on the ground.

"We'll…we'll miss you. Please don't tell Will I said this, but…take good care of him, okay? Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. You know yourself how he is, he'd rather tire himself out to the brink of unconsciousness than rest when there's still work to be done. Just…keep him alive, okay? And try to keep each other alive, too." Alec said soberly, and Jason and Nico relaxed and nodded.

"Of course." "Don't worry, we'll be back before you even know it."

Nico and Jason assured him, though they knew it was an easy thing to say, yet a much harder thing to accomplish.

They would, though.

They'd make it. And they'd protect each other to the bone, that much was obvious.

Alec seemed pleased with that, smiling at them and giving them a small nod, before making to leave their tent.

Nico surprised himself by holding him back, and then, he even topped that by awkwardly moving his arms around him and tugging him into a hug.

Family.

His family.

He wondered faintly whether that meant he'd have to introduce the entire cabin to his dad eventually – a thought that, for strange reasons, made him smile, while Alec returned the hug enthusiastically, and Jason joined in.

It wasn't a goodbye hug.

It wasn't even really a gratitude-hug.

Nico wasn't quite sure what hug it was, but Alec didn't seem to care, pressing them against him, anyways.

"Did we miss something?" Will asked behind them as Kayla, he and Percy poked their heads inside, but Nico didn't pull away, and neither did Jason or Alec.

"We're adopting Alec." Jason said seriously, and Will gave a distracted nod as he stepped inside, his eyes still rimmed red as he gazed around in unconcealed awe.

"Oh, okay, that's…wait, _what_?!" Will asked, his head snapping around at them with a bewildered look on his face.

"How are you going to _adopt my brother_?!"

The incredulity in his voice caused Jason to laugh first, quickly followed by Nico and Alec, while Kayla rolled her eyes and pulled her head away from the entrance to let it fall shut.

Percy smiled at them with a fond expression and stuck close to Will, who made a face and stuck his tongue out at them for their laughing, before he looked around again and explored their new tent, himself.

"I'll leave you alone for a moment, okay? We'll be waiting for your feedback outside. Take your time." Alec told them and pulled away from Nico and Jason completely, shooting them both another soft smile that looked so much like Will's, yet also entirely different.

Will looked at them as if they were his world.

Alec looked at them as if they were his own brothers.

Hopefully, one day, Alec would get to call Nico his brother-in-law and have it be true.

The moment he was out of the tent, Nico turned towards his boyfriends.

"I'm going to give them my credit card." He decided, loudly, though he wasn't sure why he told them that, rather than just doing it.

"They'd never accept it." Will replied smoothly as if he had expected him to say it, tugging open the bedside table and whistling at the contents.

"They sure went all out, huh?" Will asked, and the hint of breathlessness in his voice showed he wasn't as fine as he tried to make it seem.

Nico wanted to argue about the card, but also saw the way Will's expression turned vulnerable a moment later as he sat down on their new bed, saw the way he buried his face in his hands, and he knew that was much more important right now than anything else.

He was at his side in an instance, same as Percy and Jason were.

"I didn't expect this. I didn't know of this. At all." Will whispered, his shoulders shaking again as his voice trembled, though Nico wasn't sure why this seemed to hit him so badly.

"They love you. This is their way of showing you they support you and want you to come back safe and sound, love." Jason said softly as he crouched down in front of Will.

For some reason, whatever Jason had just said only seemed to make it worse, because Will seemed one second away from a breakdown, sniffling and sobbing and rubbing at his face furiously until Percy tugged his hands away with practiced ease.

"Will, I know it's not easy to leave them behind. I'm sorry you have to go through this." Percy said softly, and Nico glanced towards Jason, worried he'd change his mind about wanting them along.

Jason caught his glance and clenched his jaw, before pointedly looking towards the ground, showing he would put his thoughts on this on hold until Will had the chance to tell them what was wrong.

"It's not that. It's just…I…I…I can't tell you. I'm sorry." Will pressed out between sobs and Nico noticed how Percy started maneuvering Will towards Nico.

For a moment, he wanted to signal him to do anything _but_ that, because how should _he_ comfort Will in a moment such as this?

But then, he didn't, instead trusting Percy's judgment and wrapping his arms around Will, gently coaxing him into an embrace that made Will shudder and cling to him.

"Because you don't know?" He asked tentatively, stroking through his hair and over his back, but Will shook his head slightly.

"Because I can't tell you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He sounded so torn, so pained.

Jason and Percy moved their hands to join Nico's, stroking their boyfriend soothingly, reassuringly, trying to give him some sort of comfort even though they didn't know what it was he needed.

Will just kept chanting apologies, but didn't elaborate, and Nico stopped asking at some point, simply holding him, instead.

Eventually, the tears stopped, and the sobs subsided, but they remained where they were, waiting until Will pulled his head back and looked at them with a weak smile and a broken look in his eyes that tore Nico's heart apart, though he wasn't sure whether it was the expression itself, or the fact there was nothing he could do about it until Will let them know what was wrong.

"You know I'll start crying the moment I step out there again, right?" He whispered quietly, sounding both bitter and amused about it at the same time, which was a skill only Will possessed.

"Goodbyes are always difficult." Percy said softly.

"We'll get back safe and sound, Will." Jason assured him.

"Want to get it over with, then?" Nico asked, knowing he'd start bawling the moment he set foot out there, too, albeit for different reasons. Probably.

Will let out a shaky breath, then he nodded, and allowed Nico to wipe the remnants of his tears away gently.

"Then let's go."

.

Needless to say, they both bawled, and because the rest of the helpers and supporters of the 'project' were here as well by the time they left the tent, they could both proudly admit they had cried in front of what had felt like half of the Camp.

But nobody had said anything, nobody had teased them, nothing of the sort.

Instead, they had been met with hugs and people crying in reply to their crying, and, all in all, it was the most emotional gift-exchange Nico had ever witnessed in his life.

That had only been topped by Leo's unexpected appearance with the 'original' tent, which Alec and Austin tried to frantically steal from him and hide from view, though Leo didn't let them, instead passing it to Will, who had – of course – decided to look at it, too.

Based on Alec's description of 'the original', Nico had expected something along the lines of the rags on sticks he would have still cherished, but instead, they had been met with a much smaller, much plainer, but just as beautiful tent.

Leo had tinkered with that one, too, of course.

Which had ended up being a surprise for _everyone_ , when they realized Leo, Calypso, Annabeth, Piper, Clarisse, and a few other, younger campers from their training groups, had also worked on a separate tent – a _medic_ tent.

It was enough to make Will bawl again, and it was enough to make Alec gape and hug Nico because he had been closest – which had led to Nico finding out Alec, Kayla and Austin had been behind most of the building and creating, and this tent had mostly been Alec's work.

He had pulled Alec aside the moment he regained his composure somewhat again, when everybody was busy chatting and laughing and helping Jason and Percy carry their luggage into their sleeping tent to minimize the things they had to carry and to test whether the weight would change, as well as some trial runs of them setting the tents up or returning them to backpack-state by themselves so they got some practice.

Of course, as Will had told him and as he had known himself, Alec had seemed positively appalled at the idea of taking Nico's credit card, taking pride in their hard work and the effort and sweat they had poured into their project and refusing to take even a cent in return.

It was both very frustrating and very honorable at the same time, and Nico had tried his best to find an argument that would sway him, though in the end, he had ended up admitting defeat.

For the time being.

It still felt unfair, especially considering they were giving nothing back, and would leave the cabin to fend for itself, as well as they left the Camp to fend for itself.

But nobody said that.

Nobody even gave the impression they thought anything of the sort.

When they spoke of Jason's travels or their departure tomorrow, they talked about it the same way they talked about quests – necessary, deadly trips across the country to find a certain goal, achieve something, stop something, succeed and return.

It didn't matter how many people left, the number was adequate and necessary for the quest.

It didn't matter who left and who stayed behind, the quest had its dangers and so those who went would fight, and those who stayed behind would also fight, when the time came.

Nobody told them they were selfish, nobody implied they had anything but professional reasons for travelling together, nobody teased them, and nobody mentioned anything sexual in any form whatsoever, though whether that was because of the situation in general or because of Nico's minor breakout inside the tent, he didn't know.

All in all, it was refreshing, and Nico put it on his To-Do-List to have them spend more time with the Apollo kids once they returned to Camp.

They deserved it, and they kept proving over and over again to be great listeners, great people, and great siblings-in-law.

The first time Nico said this out loud, he had been met with a sudden, absolute silence and startled stares, which had given him pause as he had thought over his words and tried to figure out whether he had said something wrong.

Then, Will had let out a small laugh, and the next moment, Nico had been held by what had felt like the entire Camp, everybody trying to touch the usually untouchable Nico di Angelo, to the point where he had seemed absolutely engulfed in some sort of ultimate hug that had left him breathless and with his mouth full of another person's hair and no part of his body visible in the midst of Will's siblings.

They had cooed, they had raved, they had cried and patted Nico's head and called him their bro-in-law with affection that still amazed him, no trace of fear or unease or apprehension in either their gazes or touches.

Nico had to admit he hadn't felt the most comfortable, but permitting all that contact and closeness hadn't felt bad, either.

Over time, the other campers started leaving again, and with their packing/unpacking done and the tent stored away securely next to their bed of the night, the four of them found themselves in the midst of Will's siblings, sitting cross-legged on Kayla's bed and eating snacks, chatting and laughing loudly, and Nico felt a sense of ease he didn't often get outside of the Hades cabin.

He had accepted Camp Half-Blood as his home a long time ago.

But it had taken until now to truly realize that the Apollo kids, as well as their other friends, were part of that home, as well.

Nico took a lot of pictures that day, and was surprised when everybody around him kept taking the camera from him to take even more pictures, just with him in them, too.

They didn't know what the future held, but tomorrow, they would leave, and no matter what would happen, he would make sure they'd make it, and that he would be able to return his guys and the rest of their small team safe and sound to Camp, to his family, to his home.

...

Kyle searched through the boy's mind, picking at fresh memories he was unwilling to share, his struggles still as annoying as on the first day, though Kyle had grown used to it.

Boring.

If only he could take control of him properly, then he could lead him where he wanted to go, and get all the information he sought.

But the ban was tricky, and the magic strong, long as the bitch was with them.

He would have to take care of her eventually, same as he would have to take care of that useless dragon that was guarding the fleece.

Though he was in no hurry. He had time.

Picking through the memories at his leisure, he stopped short when he spotted something interesting.

A bunch of kids, hiding behind some bushes, not noticing the person watching them.

'Do you think they saw us?' The girl asked in a hushed, urgent voice.

'They waved at us. _Of course_ , they saw us, Kayla. How are we going to do this?' The boy replied, and the other one shrugged helplessly.

He promptly lost interest, uncaring for any secret rendezvous between campers he couldn't care less about.

Though the girl seemed vaguely familiar.

It was that girl that held his attention a moment longer, and he was pleased beyond measure when he heard her next words.

'Well, first of all, we have to get the gift inside our cabin. Then, we need some sort of plan to get Will and his boyfriends in there. They don't know of anything, I checked back with everyone. The only one who seemed to pick up on _something_ was Nico.'

William.

 _His_ William.

Kyle sneered, pushing Clovis' mind a little further, though it strained against his hold.

Eventually, his tool would break, he already knew that.

He also knew it would lead to people knowing he had something to do with it.

But he couldn't resist the temptation, anyways.

There was a certain thrill in just taking what he wanted, and he would never get enough of that.

Though he knew he had come dangerously close to a premature discovery already.

Those kids, the younglings, they had seen Clovis and his true state, the way he was falling apart, the way he struggled.

He knew this, because he had tested the boundaries of the ban that day, trying to possess parts of Clovis, if he couldn't possess all of him.

Clovis might have struggled, but he had still been able to direct him, and he had heard what they had said, and had heard what Clovis had thought, giving their names and identities away to him unconsciously and unwillingly.

There was a certain thrill in that, too.

It had been rather tedious to gain access to their minds and modify their memories, though, and it had caused him to lose sight of the dream boy for a while, who still foolishly thought he could escape him.

He wished he could have broken them to make up for the inconvenience, but he guessed he had to follow _some_ orders sometime – so secrecy and no lasting damage, it had been, as disappointing as it was.

Though he still wondered where the third one had gone. He knew he had seen a second boy with them, the one that had spoken to Clovis first, but no matter where Kyle had searched, he hadn't managed to find him.

It didn't bother him, though.

He knew from looking around in other minds that the boy hadn't talked, undoubtedly because of his perfect modification and the girl and the other boy believing they had told Chiron of their find, even though they had done no such thing.

He loved messing with people.

'They're continuing on their way.' The second boy said, and even though Kyle didn't care, he lingered, anyways, waiting for anything else that might be of importance, his instinct telling him there was more to gain here.

His instinct proved to be right when the first boy sighed.

'I still can't believe they're already leaving tomorrow. Did they say where to?'

William was leaving?

 _Finally_!

Clovis mind struggled, his presence trying to drown out the memory as he fought against the tight grip on him.

'No idea. They said they don't want to risk the wrong people knowing, so only the heads of the cabins know.' Kayla said with a hint of disappointment in her voice, but he didn't care for that.

Useless.

He waited a moment longer, watching the kids leave and Clovis stay back, cowering behind his bushes with misery and helplessness surging through him as he realized this would be ripped from him later – _now_ – too, same as all the other information he had unwillingly given so far.

Kyle sneered and basked in Clovis' pain and misery like others would bask in glory and praise.

To him, it was the same thing.

Then, when he felt Clovis' mind threading the thin line he had kept approaching the past weeks, he gave him free.

They might still need him, after all, and even if not, he still made a great tool to kill some time.

Turning around in their current hideout, his eyes fell on his people.

A slow, dark smile appeared on his lips.

" _It is time_." Kyle announced, thinking of those three fools that had thought they could face him, and of his William in their midst, believing he had the ounce of a chance against him.

He would show them.

He had it all planned out already, and oh, how he enjoyed thinking about all the things he was going to do to them, crushing them, destroying them, tearing them down, only to back off a moment and let them replenish and believe they stood a chance, just to rinse and repeat.

William would play right into his palm, same as he had always done, Kyle already knew that.

Oh, killing William would be such an easy thing, even with his three lapdogs.

But breaking him and completely wreaking him was so much more fun, and Kyle could barely wait.

It wouldn't be long, then William would be _his_ again.

And, if the boy struggled too much, or Kyle grew bored of him, he could still finish him off.

He was in no hurry, after all.

He had all the time in the world.

Those fools had no idea.

No idea at all.

...

The night came too quickly.

Percy laid awake in the silence around them, still surprised that the sound of a water fountain had become so normal to him its absence set him on edge.

The Apollo kids had been awake with them until shortly before midnight, then the fatigue had become too great and Will had decided to send the lot of them to bed, with the excuse he was too tired and they were too loud.

Though that had not stopped Will an hour before that, when he had grabbed a random pillow and thrown it towards Kayla, just to whack her across the head with another one a moment later, yelling something about a surprise pillow fight – which apparently was a regular thing in the Apollo cabin, because everybody had immediately armed up and charged into battle as well.

That had been one of the strangest, yet also funniest things he had witnessed, and he hadn't needed Jason's pillow in his face to know they just _had_ to join that game.

It had been fun, it had exhausted them, it had felt great to let out all the excess tension of the day.

To be honest, it was probably the reason why everybody had managed to fall asleep so quickly.

Everybody, except Percy, of course.

And _Will_.

Percy knew Will was awake, could hear it in the irregularity of his breath and the constant shifting as he turned from side to side, seeming restless and lost in thoughts, just as Percy was.

For Will, the departure was proving to be more difficult than any of them might have expected, though Percy knew it didn't change his wish to come with them.

Percy wasn't sure what it was that had ultimately gotten under Will's skin the way it had, whether it had been the gift, the value of the gift, the thought that must have gone into it, or simply the fact he had realized the severity of their mission, but he knew Will was still not over it.

Maybe that was the reason for his restlessness.

Percy still remembered the way Will had clutched him, outside the tent, ignoring his usual pride and composure as he had sobbed into Percy's shoulder openly, even though his siblings had been able to see.

He had the highest respect for these kids and their ability to give them privacy in an overfilled room and leave them to themselves.

"Will?" He asked quietly, and Will stilled in the middle of turning over again.

Percy waited, just gazing up at the dark ceiling and trying to get used to the noise of even breathing around them and the lack of the usual Nico-feeling of the cabin that he had grown accustomed to.

"Yes?" Will replied softly, not making a secret of being awake, and Percy closed his eyes with a small sigh, holding out an arm.

He didn't know whether Will could even see, and didn't open his eyes nor turn his head to check, but the next moment, there was rustling, and then his boyfriend was next to him, nestling his head on his arm and snuggling closer without a word.

Tomorrow, they would leave.

It was odd.

It was too fast.

It was unfair.

But there was nothing they could do.

It would be unfair towards those that needed their help to make them wait for such selfish reasons like a few more days of bliss and peace.

Percy turned to the side and moved his arm around Will, giving him a kiss on the forehead and tugging him into his embrace further.

Will, who usually complained about such intimacies 80% of the time, immediately clutched his shirt and buried his face in the fabric, sucking in a shaky breath.

It was too soon.

Percy had hoped so badly that they'd have some more days, a slow, steady change, not this.

He wished they had somehow had more time.

More time for each other and themselves.  
More time for their friends.  
More time for their clearing.  
More time for fun things like games and movies and dates.

 _More time._

Will was crying quietly.

Percy knew, because even though Will didn't make a sound, he still felt his shirt dampening where Will had his face buried in it.

He didn't say anything, merely stroking over his back and trying to soothe whatever worries he had.

There was nothing he could say, he had already said it all earlier, when he had held Will and rocked him back and forth lightly on the spot, telling him they'd be okay, they'd return, they'd watch over each other and their new gift, and they'd make Camp and Will's siblings so proud.

Nothing of it had seemed to help, but somehow, Will had still stopped crying eventually, and when he had looked up at Percy after all of that, with those teary eyes full of endless sorrow, that had also been the moment he had realized what Percy had done earlier, when he had left them for a short while to 'run an errand'.

The thought of how surprised and stunned Will had stared at him, with his eyes still rimmed red and his hands flying up to Percy's hair to touch the freshly cut strands, had almost been comical, if it hadn't also made Percy's stomach twist in concern.

The past weeks, he had found Will with his hands in Percy's hair so many times, with the same sad expression on his face and an air of defeat around him, Percy had never been able to shake it off completely.

He had asked Annabeth about a possible explanation, but she had only given him a similarly sad look, as if she knew something he didn't, though her next words had been teasing and telling him maybe he was already growing grey hairs.

In the end, she had suggested Piper could cut his hair if it made him more comfortable.

Today, he had taken her up on it, hoping it would somehow, miraculously, make Will stop looking at him like that.

As bizarre as it was, it was the one thing that had drawn Will's focus away from his cabin and their gift, instead seeming stunned and more than a little breathless, his fingers stroking through Percy's hair and massaging along his scalp ever so lightly, exploring, looking, appraising.

Percy still remembered how Will had opened and closed his mouth countless times, had looked at him in disbelief, before he had whispered a bewildered 'Why?', his voice trembling and weak.

'You seemed so upset about it. I guess it was getting too long again?' He had replied, and Will had kept stroking through his hair, as if gauging the new length, measuring it by touch and sight alone, though Percy wasn't sure what he had been looking for, nor whether he had found it.

'Is it okay like this?' He had asked tentatively, and Will had drawn him into a surprisingly gentle kiss, his hands only reluctantly letting go of his hair so he could hug Percy properly and press their bodies together.

'It's perfect, Percy. No matter how long it is, it's perfect. I love you. Never forget that, okay?' Will had whispered, a reply that hadn't exactly made sense, and hadn't really stilled Percy's need for an answer whether he had done the right thing, but the kiss that had followed made him believe he had.

"You should sleep." Will whispered, pulling him out of his thoughts as he gazed down at his boyfriend in his arms, though he couldn't see more than his hair.

"So should you, sun-bug." He replied softly, though they both knew neither of them would sleep for a long time.

"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly, though he wasn't sure how he expected Will to reply to that.

He didn't even know how he would reply to such a question, himself.

"Scared." Will admitted, his body tensing for a moment as if expecting a laugh, but Percy only resumed his gentle stroking, and the tension disappeared a moment later again.

"Me too." He whispered, and Will came closer, his face pressing through the shirt into Percy's chest as he drew another shaky breath, his shoulders trembling again.

"I don't want us to go, Percy." Will admitted, his voice weak and his body shaking, but Percy had nothing to offer him, no ace to pull out of his sleeve, nothing to ease the pain that he knew they all felt.

"It will be okay, sun-bug." He whispered, though he knew the promise was nothing but pretty, yet empty words.

They didn't know what would happen.

They didn't know anything.

Such was the life of a demigod.

Will sobbed miserably, and Percy pressed him tightly against him, his lips pressing against the side of his head.

He held Will like that until Will eventually succumbed to the lingering exhaustion of the day, his breathing evening out as the tension left his body gradually.

Only when he knew Will was completely asleep did he let go, allowing him to turn around, and turning his back to him, himself, to make it easier on him should he wake up before his nightmare woke him.

He was a lot better these days with them behind him, but sometimes, Percy still caught him tensing up in apparent shock or discomfort, and with everything that had happened today, he didn't want to push it and risk a panic attack.

Percy gazed into the dark and quiet cabin, his eyes by now adjusted to the darkness and making out the shapes of Will's siblings, all sleeping more or less peacefully, some snoring, some humming, some in sync with others and some not.

This was the first time Percy slept in the Apollo cabin.

It reminded him a lot of his time in the Hermes cabin, but it wasn't quite as crowded in here, and nobody had to sleep on the ground or makeshift-beds.

It also reminded him of his mother, and how she and Paul would be on that cruise trip already by now.

He had tried to call her once, but Fleecy hadn't connected him, so he assumed she must have been busy at the time.

Percy knew he should have called her today, knew for some reason that she would have picked up this time, but he hadn't been able to make himself.

Calling her now would mean he would have to tell her they were about to leave, and that meant she would look at him and tell him she was sorry, and that she was proud of him, and that she knew they would be alright.

He couldn't bear to hear any of those things from her right now.

He couldn't bear to see her face and be unable to touch her, to hug her, same as he was unable of telling her what he knew was the truth.

He didn't want to fight anymore.

Maybe she would understand, or maybe she wouldn't, but he knew she wouldn't be able to say anything that would ease the turmoil inside him, the constant struggle between what he knew he had to do, and the resentment directed at himself for doing it.

He didn't want to fight anymore.  
He had never wanted to fight, in the first place.  
He had never wanted to take part in this struggle between gods, monsters, demigods and mortals.

Sometimes, he wondered whether that was the sacrifice the gods had warned him about.

'You'll have to face a sacrifice you're unable to make.' They had said.

If so, they were wrong.

He turned his head towards his boyfriends, his eyes roaming their silhouettes.

He would fight for them, that went without question.

He would fight until his dying breath, and even then, he would do everything in his power to tear down as many monsters and enemies alongside him to make sure his guys would live.

If this was his sacrifice, he would make it gladly, and pick up his sword over and over again, no matter how much his body and soul refused to and rejected the idea.

Pain spread from his chest to the rest of his body, filling him with a sense of hopelessness and resentment directed at himself and the gods for causing and allowing that hopelessness.

He didn't want to fight.

He never wanted to be a demigod.

But for his boyfriends, he would fight, and they would win, and he would return them to Camp safely, no matter when, no matter how, and no matter how many times they would have to leave and make it back.

He had almost lost Jason because of a simple mistake, he would never let that happen again.

He would fight whatever dared to attack them.

He would face whatever the Fates threw their way.

He would protect his boyfriends, and if it cost him his sanity and peace of mind, then so be it.

Somehow, that decision and his resolve helped ease enough tension for him to close his eyes, though it still took a long time for him to find rest.

They would leave tomorrow.  
…He wasn't ready.

They would leave tomorrow.  
…He would never be ready.

They would leave tomorrow.  
…Percy would do anything for his guys.

They would leave tomorrow.

 _So be it._

 _The End_

* * *

 **A/N:** Aaaand this is it! :D _  
_

I hope you enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to who I'll see once I'm uploading the seeeequel ;)  
As I said before, I first want to write on it in peace to get a good headstart before uploading anything, but I hope it won't take too long, anyways.

In the meantime, I also intend to work over the Advent Calendar and Love, Dreams, Impending End of the World and Other Minor Problems, to get all those horrible spelling and grammar mistakes out (or most of them, anyways), so let's see how that goes ;d

Thank you so much for reading, and an even bigger thanks to everybody who left a comment! You're the absolute bestest, and I'll never be able to explain just how much your words meant to me!

Wish you all the best,  
(Until next time ;))  
-Tári


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